DAYTON, Ohio – The Justice Department says it won’t bring federal charges against a white police officer who killed a black shopper carrying an air rifle in a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, in 2014. The case involved a 22-year-old Fairfield man, John Crawford III, who had taken a BB/pellet gun off a store shelf. A 911 caller reported that a man was pointing a gun at customers, and police charged into the store. Store surveillance video shows that Officer Sean Williams shot Crawford…
… To establish willfulness, federal authorities would be required to show that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law. Mistake, misperception, negligence, necessity, or poor judgment are not sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation.
I think this is the final nail of this case. Let’s face it, any Legal action to be brought would have been against the caller who (IMHO) willfully lied to 911 and began the chain of events that led to Mr Crawford’s death. When local authorities refused, not only Justice was not served, but a dangerous precedent is now floating around: You can get away with SWATting.