Grand jury probes Ohio Walmart shooting

A special grand jury began hearing evidence on Monday in the racially charged case of a fatal police shooting inside a Walmart store.

No timetable has been made public on how long it will take to present evidence to the Greene County jurors or how long it might take for them to make a decision on whether anyone should face charges in the shooting of 22-year-old John Crawford III.

Crawford, who was black, was shot by police in Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 5 while holding an air rifle his family said he had taken off a store shelf. Two white police officers responded to a 911 call reporting a man waving a gun, and according to police, only shot Crawford after he didn't obey the officers' commands to put the weapon down.

Crawford's family, however, said he did nothing to warrant being shot. The case is one of a number of incidents that have seen concerns raised over the shooting of black individuals by officers.

The Ohio shooting occurred just a few days before Ferguson, Missouri, police killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, an incident that set off mass riots in the streets of Ferguson and is now under investigation by the Justice Department.

Crawford’s family also want federal authorities to investigate whether race was a factor in his shooting. They and other supporters, including the president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and the Rev. Al Sharpton, have pushed for public release of store surveillance video. State Attorney General Mike DeWine has refused, saying it could compromise the investigation and taint a potential jury pool.

DeWine has named a veteran Hamilton County prosecutor, Mark Piepmeier, to take the case to the grand jury.

On Monday, some 20 demonstrators stood on a street corner outside the courthouse with signs critical of authorities' handling of the case, with messages such as "Justice 4 all" and "Toy guns don't kill people, cops do." Dozens of other people gathered Monday morning outside the Walmart store in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek, and some planned to go on to Xenia.

Prentiss Haney, a member of the Ohio Student Association at Wright State University, said a rally was planned for Monday afternoon. He said the demonstrators want the video released, charges brought against the police and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.

"We believe this is not just a problem in this area, but a national problem deeply rooted in racism that has plagued black and brown lives in our country," Haney said.

The Rev. Gloria Dillon, pastor of the nondenominational Glory Ministries in Xenia, said she and others want to be outside the courthouse to pray as much as possible through the grand jury proceedings. Dillon said her group wasn't there to take sides.

The Rev. LeRoy Anthony, pastor of Middle Run Baptist Church in Xenia, echoed Dillon's sentiments.

"We are praying for a peaceful process," he said. "We don't want things that have happened in other communities with similar situations to happen here."

Al Jazeera and Associated Press