Dayton Daily News

Beavercree­k Crawford family reach settlement

$1.7M deal agreed in wrongful death suit from 2014 shooting.

- By Ismail Turay Jr. Staff Writer

Nearly six years after a Beavercree­k police officer shot and killed John Crawford III in Walmart, the city has settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by his family.

The 22-year-old Crawford, a Fairfield resident, was shot to death Aug. 5, 2014, by Beavercree­k police Officer Sean Williams after a 911 caller told dispatcher­s a black man was holding a rifle, appeared to be loading it and waving it near people. Crawford was holding a Crosman MK-177 BB/pellet rifle that he found unboxed on a store shelf.

The city and Crawford family have reached a $1.7 million settlement agreement. Crawford family attorney Michael Wright confirmed the settlement to the Dayton Daily News.

“We made a strategic decision to resolve the case for the family,” he said. “That was a negotiated settlement, so we thought that that was appropriat­e based on the law and based on our potential of losing in the court of appeals.”

Wright said that the wrongful death lawsuit against Walmart continues.

“(The Crawford family) is glad that one part of this case was put behind them. But we’re still fighting,” Wright said. “We still have a case against Walmart, so we’re hopeful that we will get a successful verdict.”

The Walmart portion of the case is scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 2.

The city of Beavercree­k issued a statement:

“The Beavercree­k police officers involved in the incident responded to the scene in accordance with their training, and their response followed accepted

law enforcemen­t procedures and protocols, based on the informatio­n reported by a 911 caller inside the store.

“The city of Beavercree­k and its personnel have made no admission of any liability or wrongdoing and they remain confident that the actions taken by their police officers that day were appropriat­e based on the informatio­n available at the time.”

Beavercree­k Mayor Bob Stone referred all questions to the city’s attorney. A message was left with the attorney.

The night of the shooting, Ronald Ritchie called 911 from inside the Walmart and reported a suspicious man with a gun.

Wright previously said the family believed responsibi­lity for the shooting remained with the store, Walmart, and the city of Beavercree­k.

“Ritchie would not have called 911 had the BB gun been secure in the box,” Wright said in a 2019 interview with the Dayton Daily News. “So, Walmart’s ultimately responsibl­e for this event.”

When shots were fired by Officer Williams, shoppers rushed to flee the store. One of them, Angela Williams, suffered a fatal heart attack. She and her children were shopping for school supplies.

A federal gr a nd j ury declined to indict Williams in Crawford’s death. That decision came in July, 2017, almost three years after the shooting.

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John Crawford III

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