Breaking news: FBI to conduct investigation into police shooting at Wal-mart

Breaking news: FBI to conduct investigation into police shooting at Wal-mart

The FBI will investigate the death of John Crawford III- a black man shot by police for holding an air rifle.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will be conducting an independent review into the death of John Crawford III- a 22-year-old black man who was shot down by police in a Wal-Mart last year. The police claim that he was a serious threat to the safety of the crowded store. Crawford was holding a air rifle that was for sale.

The FBI’s actions come after the grand jury of Cincinnati decided not to indict the officers involved in the shooting.

Angela Byers, a special agent, told the Associated Press that the agency would be working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to take “a double look” at the case in the context of federal laws “to make sure there’s nothing more that we feel at the federal level needs to be done.”

“That involves getting everything from the first case and going through it with a fine-tooth comb,” said Byers. “So that takes a while.”

Byers is unable to give specifics about an ongoing investigation. However, the FBI review will most likely interview witnesses and the police officers involved. The investigation will involve five agents with additional help from the FBI Civil Rights Unit available as necessary.

The City of Beavercreek, the site of the shooting, requested the FBI investigation. City officials stand by the officers involved, who claim that they were doing what they had been trained to do. However, with continued protests under the banner of ‘Black Lives Matter,’ measures had to be taken to convince the public of the government’s commitment to justice before the law.

The prosecutors will have to prove that the officers willfully deprived Crawford of his civil rights, in accordance with the rigorous standard of federal civil rights violation cases.

Typically, police are given a great deal of leeway in regards to using deadly force when they feel themselves under threat. The question is, were they seriously threatened?

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