Just in case you need a reminder: It's still open season on Black people in America

[MrScorpio]

Even though John Crawford III was only holding a BB gun he picked up—IN A STORE THAT SELLS BB GUNS.

Even though it was an open carry state.

Even though he was on the phone when police officers opened fire on him.

Even though he was shot in the back.

Even though the cops lied and were caught in a lie because of the subsequent video.

A grand jury who, when added together, obviously didn’t have half a gnat’s brain, declined to indict the officers.

The message here?

It has been, is, and always will be open season on black people for as long as white supremacy is the philosophie du jour.

(H/T Chad Goller-Sojourner)

http://sonofbaldwin.tumblr.com/post/98322068425/even-though-john-crawford-iii-was-only-holding-a

DOJ will investigate Walmart shooting after no indictment
By Jill Drury
Published: September 24, 2014, 10:36 am Updated: September 24, 2014, 3:45 pm

XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) – The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice will now conduct an independent review of facts surrounding the Beavercreek Walmart shooting. It will look for any violations of federal criminal civil rights statutes stemming from the August 5 shooting that took the life of John Crawford III.

A special Greene County Grand Jury declined to hand down an indictment against two police officers involved in the shooting.

The grand jury was comprised of nine jurors. At least seven jurors must agree to indict. It declined to indict Sergeant David Darkow and Officer Sean Williams on any criminal charges.

Special Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier walked the media through the August 5 shooting incident inside the store, including use of the controversial surveillance video from inside the store.grand jury

It shows John Crawford III walking around the aisles with the toy weapon in his hands. It later shows the police officers approaching him. You can see how Crawford interacted with officers, but also the 911 caller who warned police of what was happening. 2 NEWS elected not to show the portion of the video that shows John Crawford being shot. It is a decision made out of respect to the family and to viewers like you.

http://wdtn.com/2014/09/24/walmart-grand-jury-decision-in-announcement-at-1130/

[KamaAina]

1. Too bad the officers weren't ham sandwiches

although they are pigs.

The point being that the prosecutor almost certainly led the grand jurors as far away from returning an indictment as he possibly could.

[Dustlawyer]

13. Bingo!

[CincyDem]

2. Grand juries do what their told

In this case, Mike DeWine (Ohio Attorney General and sleezeball extraordinaire) didn't want the cop indicted. As it is written so be it done.

I have no doubts that if, in a hypothetical world, DeWine wanted to indict Crawford's girlfriend for any reason from jaywalking to murder...he could have gotten that indictment. Grand juries in most states are about creating the appearance of justice (as defined by the prosecutor).

At some point in time, we'll have to formalize the BWB (breathing while black) laws. It would be so much simpler and cheaper than running around with all this murder BS. (in case that's necessary)

[CincyDem]

3. Oh - and this part about the news NOT showing the video of him being shot

God knows we don't want the general population to actually see what happened so they can form their own opinions. Just think what we tell you and you'll have a much happier day. Sheesh.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Minorities' best chance at justice is with the Feds.

And, it helps to have a black president in Office, because I wouldn't make that statement with a high degree of confidence, otherwise.

[1StrongBlackMan]

38. The Federal Government has always been ...

Our only, real, shot at justice ... and, that is a really telling and scary thought.

[Baitball Blogger]

39. I know.

Since they rarely move off their arse if there isn't any national exposure.

[MerryBlooms]

5. Disgraceful. I just don't even know what to say anymore.

Week after week...

[951-Riverside]

6. If you think its bad now, just wait until this Ebola scare takes off n/t

[seabeyond]

7. as long as they continue to get away with it like this, it wil continue to be done.

open season on young black me.

that is no hyperbole.

[Comrade Grumpy]

8. It's Ferguson time! Seriously. Take it to the streets.

[Louisiana1976]

29. Right on!

[BronxBoy]

9. Well.......

WE don't really need a reminder. We just need to look in the mirror everyday. And there are still people on the forum who are trotting out the " Well he had a realistic looking toy and was pointing it at people" line.

I'm still waiting for them to detail for me how many White open carry protestors have been shot or even had a gun pointed at them.

[Tumbulu]

11. such excellent points!

and just so heartbreaking.

[passiveporcupine]

22. That can be easily slapped down

Show me where he pointed it at anyone. Show me where he loaded it with bullets. This is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen a jury do. And the guy on the 911 call should also be indicted. He lied repeatedly during that call about what Crawford was doing. And he was on the call for so long and Crawford never fired the weapon...that should have set off some alarm bells for the cops to maybe wonder if this wasn't a false alarm.

This is the most egregious use of "he's a black man" to paint a bias to 911 that I've ever seen. He was a clean cut young man, not behaving in a threatening way. Look at all the people in the store that see him and don't act the least bit panicked. Why did the cops shoot? Why didn't they first ask him to drop the weapon? He wasn't facing them and there was no one else around.

They need to show the rest of the damned tape.

This also shows the difference between a white man or group of white men open carrying in a store, and no one panics, but let a black man do it by himself and he's dangerous and needs to be killed without a chance to say why he even has a gun. Or if it's even a real gun.

This shows why it's so dangerous to open carry in protest, and why it's so dangerous to give kids guns that look real. And why it's so dangerous for a black person to pick up a toy gun in a store like any other customer might do.

I really hate what racism has done to this country.

[Scuba]

10. Good to see the swift response of the Justice Department. Some justice is sorely needed.

[Terra Alta]

12. This is getting worse and worse.

It seems not even a week goes by without hearing about a young black man being shot by a trigger-happy white cop. In 2014. Un-fucking-believable. What's it going to take for people to say "enough is enough"? Being black isn't a crime and shouldn't be treated as such. Really makes me sick.

[Dr. Xavier]

14. This has got to stop

This has got to stop NOW.

Please see my post in the Civil Liberties group. I represent a young man, who was shot and paralyzed because he was trying to defend himself using a BB gun. This is so crazy, it has to stop.

[marym625]

15. I wonder if the GJ even saw the video

Outright murder. He was not doing anything threatening and wasn't even given time to respond before they gunned him down.

Sickening!

[marym625]

16. full video

Matched to dispatch

Murder. Plain outright murder

Wal-Mart Surveillance Video of John Crawford III …:

[Rhiannon12866]

17. What century is this??!

Instead of making progress, it seems like we're regressing, and they aren't even subtle about it. Despite all the progress we've made, it appears that we're going backwards, and that includes women's rights, as well. I thought we'd fought these fights decades ago. We need to stand up and be heard.

[sheshe2]

18. Justice in this case, isn't just blind

it is deaf, dumb and racist.

DOJ will investigate Walmart shooting after no indictment, thank gawd for that.

[marym625]

19. I hope the Crawfords

Sue the town, the cops both as an entity and individually, the asshole that made the false 911 call and Walmart and I hope they take them all for everything.

My heart is broken. That poor family

[malaise]

28. +1,000

It really has been open season for African-Americans.

[erpowers]

20. Investigate and Prosecute the 911 Caller

From the news report I saw the 911 caller changed his story about what type of gun John Crawford III was carrying and how he was behaving with the gun. According to the story, the 911 caller claimed Crawford was carrying an AR-15 type weapon and was pointing it at people in the store. After the shooting the 911 caller changed his story. I may be reading too much into what the caller said and how he was acting, but I think he was either trying to get Crawford killed, or harassed, or he was trying to pull a prank like one of those swating pranks.

[ColesCountyDem]

23. A valid point.

[heaven05]

35. well, he got him killed

no prank there.

[tblue37]

43. He wanted to be seen as a hero and to be the star in TV and in newspaper

accounts about the close call everyone had with that "scary" black man.

[Vattel]

21. Looks like murder to me

[logosoco]

24. I hope the St. Louis county grand jury doesn't come out like this.

That video looked like murder to me. Very much like the Powell case in St. Louis city (a few days after Michael Brown was killed).
In this video, I don't see Crawford pointing the gun at anyone. I don't see how the police could make the determination to gun them down in the short time they were there. If the original 911 caller said someone was brandishing a weapon, they need to be charged with something.

From what I know, Ohio is an open carry state, and if this is so, wouldn't cops need to be super careful about shooting someone just because they had a gun? It is legal to carry a gun openly in Ohio, and we have seen people (white people, anyway) walking in stores opening showing large guns. They didn't get shot.

Glad to see the DOJ getting in on this case. These communities are going to have to change the methods their police force are using, not just to save lives, but because the cities are going to go bankrupt in civil suits.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. "the cities are going to go bankrupt in civil suits."

^^^THIS^^^

Cities wonder why they don't have money for infrastructure and other services and often it is because they are (quietly) paying out MILLIONS in settlements for their rogue cops.

[uponit7771]

41. The 2nd amendment is a whites only law... open carry is MOSTLY if not exclusively for whites only

[BumRushDaShow]

25. And the beat (down) goes on.... nt

[seabeyond]

27. why isnt this explosive. murder. of a man. and it got a thumbs up. what are we as a nation? nt

[gollygee]

30. People think we're "post-racial"

Do white police officers EVER get indicted when they kill African Americans? This seems so obviously to be a wrongful death. What does it take?

[Jamaal510]

34. We can't even feel safe

inside a business establishment, examining merchandise anymore. If a cop shoots a brother, nothing happens to him after someone's life is lost, and he'll be hailed as a hero by Internet racists across the country (despite shooting someone who was minding their own business). I'm almost at a loss of words as this increasingly becomes a regular occurrence. How can America pride itself as the greatest country on Earth as this type of stuff goes on?

[heaven05]

37. nothing great or exceptional

Last edited Fri Sep 26, 2014, 07:19 AM - Edit history (1)

about a country that spawned the KKK that is still thriving and murdering in 2014 based on color and other ignorant stupid criteria established on the lost cause of white supremacy. Great? No.

[Solly Mack]

36. K&R

[uponit7771]

40. +1

[albino65]

42. Indict Mike DeWine

the attorney general of Ohio. He has set the tone for the gestapo state of the justice system in Ohio.