Air rifles are weapons.

They have the capacity to kill.

They are not marked as toy guns via a bright orange tip.

Stop being idiots.

and before someone says it again... YES he was carrying an air rifle.

According
to the attorney general's office, John Crawford III was carrying an
MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/Pellet Rifle when he was shot. Manufactured by
Crosman, it is known as a “variable pump air rifle.”

Air rifles pose a greater threat if you use it as a club. I have been shot by one and yes it hurts but it only has the capacity to kill small game. That being said could the police confuse that with a real weapon, yes. Was he a threat, not reall, did he appear to be a threat, yes.

He was in the TOY aisle of Walmart.

"Only white people should be able to open carry weapons of any kind without restriction but black men are just naturally threatening and dangerous and therefore should be shot on sight with anything resembling a weapon (or just for being black)"

Have they released the video from the store yet?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/...

Of course he looked "threatening".

"The former Marine who called police said Crawford looked to be attempting to load the black air rifle and ignored police commands to drop the weapon."

What is this supposed to mean? Did the guy call the Police, or were the Police already there confronting the "gunman?" Choose one line or the other; but don't conflate the two into one accusation.

Just how do you call to alert the Cops, about a situation that already involves the Cops???

And why didn't the thousand or so WHITE people, who picked up that gun before the black guy did it... also get the Cops called on them, if not get SHOT for touching the gun?

Does it come in a box? Did he aim at people? Is there video that helps explain things?

WHAT? I thought this was a fake story, like some fucked up satirical story as this is my first time reading anything on rawstory.com, but it's actually real, wow, wtf! Stop shooting people! Why can't we use alternative weapons if necessary that do not kill, why must everyone die?! :(

Not everyone.

If I had been in the Walmart with my children, and I have a conceal and carry permit, and I thought he was threatening their lives, I would have shot him myself... This has nothing to do with race, but the fact that the guy was waving around a weapon that apparently looked real and threatening the others there. He was told to drop the weapon several times, and he didn't. Toy or not, it certainly looked real.

So tell me... If the weapon had been real and others were killed and wounded, but he told the police it was a toy and the police said, "Oh, ok, then there's no danger", and someone you love had been killed, would you still be whining that the police were the murderers? I think not...

"Black people never deserve the benefit of the doubt and therefore deserve to die and we'll just ask questions later"

Really? Funny how no one else thought he was a threat except the husband and wife witnesses.
Who else saw him waiving the gun around. You tend to believe some untrustworthy witnesses. Does that have anything to do with race?

Other witnesses give different accounts that they had no idea that anything was happening until police showed up and shoot dude.

IT WAS NOT REAL. NO IF AND OR BUTS.

WOW! When people say it has nothing to do with race that usually means it has EVERYTHING to do with race.

Umm he is in a store in the bb gun section..with a bb gun he got from that stores shelf...lol .What if the officer missed an killed an innocent bystander? what if someone had medical problems and was frightened to death by what happened during and after the confrontation...oh wait.....

"I automatically assume black people are guilty and cops are never ever wrong (especially when shooting black people)"

Who said he cocked it? I'm calling bullshit until we see the tape, so stop assuming you were there!

shut idiot hopefully you put yourself in a stupid situation one day and the cops gun you down. How about the idiots who walked around talked with "REAL" assault weapons and no-one called the cops on them oh wait they were white.Alot of men in their 20s play with video games and pellet/paintball guns

They're carrying their weapons LEGALLY.

Fucking idiot.

And he picked up a TOY in the TOY aisle where anyone could pick it up.

Ohio is a conceal and carry state. So he would've been in his rights to have a real gun inside that Walmarts.

"My best accomplishment is being born white"

I've just deleted three of your comments for ad hominem attacks. Review the terms of service if you need to, and adjust your approach or you'll be banned.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/...

I have a suggestion but you won't like it. Buh Bye!

"WHAT WAS THE DUMBASS DOING IN A TOY SECTION WITH A RIFLE OF ANY KIND?!?! " Let me explain it to you. When you shop in a store. You will carry an item from one department to another because... you are shopping in the store. If you need help with that explanation, I can draw you a diagram.

I am an old white guy... These officers are murderers and belong in prison for the rest of their lives. I know it won't happen. I hope they never have another moment's peace in their lifetimes.

you white people need to get over the fact that blacks are here to stay just like everybody eles in this sorry ass place you call America ,what is white cop trying to prove that they have enough balls to kill a young black man so now that this black
young man is dead ,whats next you still have millions of more blacks that are here
and they are not going no dam where, your hate for blacks is just that hate black
people don't care if whites hate them I feel whites are some real evil and hateful people on gods earth and that is a shame most of them are so miserable because they live to hate for what because we are here well to damn bad they are human and un perfect just like everybody eles in this world nobody is better than anyone we all shit and bleed blood and striving on this earth to get by what whites think because they are white they are right hell no them people are the antichrist and they love to kill they hate the black race because we are not like them well im glad I am not white
if I was I would be a shame of the white race it was the white race that hung jesus
it was not blacks let me clear it up to say not all whites are evil but most off them are
pay back is a bitch and what you do to a person will come back on you another young black man kill by a coward white cop with a gun they are the real killers
and I hope god don't let them in his kingdom the lord said thy shall not kill
and they killing all over the pace people killing people all race killing each other its
crazy and its all because of hate foolish people but the world will surely end soon and happy I will be

Fighting racism with more racism isn't going to solve anything. Everyone of all races need to learn to respect each other and live peacefully together. There are evil people out there of all colors. The good people have no chance if we buy into their bullshit. We have to stop being racist, all of us. Your rant against white people isn't helping do anything but further divide.The cops are out of hand and they need to be stopped. They need to be punished for breaking our trust. But that doesn't mean all white people are bad.

I am a 46 yo white male. I think this is murder also. I know your upset and emotional. Stop with your racist ditribe, all whites are not to blame. Just because your black doesn't mean you can say racist crap and not be a racist. You say whites are full of hate, looks like the pot calliing the kettle black. These 2 cops do not represent the entire race.

Just to let you know:

If people comply with police officers and listen to instructions, things can be figured out without deaths and "hate crimes" occurring. If he was told to drop the weapon several times, which was stated in the article, and still did not comply, even fully knowing it was a fake weapon and he was in the right to hold it regardless, and would be in no trouble for a misunderstanding after the matter was settled, but continued to wave it around a fail to comply, then that's his fucking fault. I'm sure police don't go out of their way to shoot people of any color or ethnicity just for kicks. If all you can spout is "WHITE MAN'S FAULT YOU ENSLAVED US WAH WAH" and 'fuk da pooolice pigs," then you will never move on and see the real reason why shit happens.

Also, another pro tip in this discussion: Jerusalem and the events of the Bible happened in what is now known as the Middle East. He would have been of an Arabic or otherwise descent that would have made him a light brown at best. I also don't believe in fairy tales, so tell me I'll burn in hell for eternity at the cost of your own breath.

As for "thou shalt not kill," go look at Detroit or in the gangs that predominately Hispanic and African Americans conform to. They shoot and kill each other all day, every day, without discrepancy. I've never touched another man, albeit for the one black person who tried to touch me. I busted his mouth open and he needed stitches, but would have happily did the same to anyone else if they wanted to lay hands on me.

(As a final notice: You cannot use the slave debate if you are alive right now. You have never nor will ever be held captive against your own free will again. Just because you might or might not have descended from a slave relative doesn't give you special privlidges)

maybe you should read the article again. looks like your a bit emotional yourself. nowhere in the article does it say they asked him to put it down several times. in addition, she states he was shot, then they told him to put it down, after he was shot. Obviously, the cops say they told him to put it down before shooting. In my experience, most cops are liars and are always, always going to cover themselves and thier buddies first. Cops will say anything to keep from getting in trouble, when they have broken the law.

I regret having read your twisted thoughts.

"[Jesus] would have been of an Arabic or otherwise descent that would have made him a light brown at best."

And the people who murdered him were the Romans, duh (at Jewish instigation)... as close as you could get to "white" people in that time and place... as Tria said...

Idiots jump into conversations before they know the facts, when those facts are there for your dissemination.
Are you an idiot? I ask because of your rendition of the story. Your placed you comment here 12 hours prior to my post here. There is so much information that is provided by witnesses that contradict you scenario. But hey, don't concern yourself w simple facts.

Then you want to talk about the racial make-up of the middle east 2000 years ago.
It would literally be an unfair debate; literally. It would be as unfair as cops shooting an unarmed man that had committed no crime.

He was told to drop a "weapon" he was not holding, because it was a toy. Stop blaming murder victims for the crimes of their killers, and learn to read.

And, final notice...You don't have any right to tell people what debate they can "use". Those days are over, like slavery.

please don't generalise white people as black hating, im white and i dont hate anyone based on colour, and i think you'll find jesus was crucidied not hung, and most whites are Evil? so what percentage ?

"most whites are Evil? so what percentage ?"

The same percentage who find no Cop overreaction here...

I could make the same argument that blacks are evil because I had one stick a pistol in my face. Never had anyoneone else do that except a black man. But I know better, because some of my best friends also happen to be black. I certainly feel this is overreaction by the police, if not plain murder in cold blood. Cops tend to treat blacks expecially harsh, but I've also been beaten and falsely accused of a crime I didn't commit. Guess what, they got away with it too. I had to plead out and take the deal, knowing I was innocent. Lucky, I didn't have priors, or it would have been worse. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I can remember my 6'5 dad being pulled over for speeding and put at gunpoint and laying on the street because the police were so scared of him, when I was a kid. It happens to more than just blacks, albet, maybe not as much.

i wouldnt have a clue as to what percentage, why would i, i realise that there are good and evil people everywhere black white or brown, but there are more good than evil, you are biased by your own experiences, and thats fine, maybe all the white people you know are Evil, but when using such a strong word to describe a whole race of people you run the risk of losing validity to your argument, would i be correct in stating that ALL black people are theives, due to my experience of being pick poicketed by a black guy, that would be a ridiculous statement for me to make.

I understand your anger and sense of being lost in the wilderness; but we must not allow anyone to entice us to throw our faculties away.
Refine that anger with purpose and it will turn into energy for your will.
And your will, well there is nothing that we cannot accomplish with it.

They (govt & elite) want to keep the people separate and divided so that those of us that do not defeat ourselves are easily defeated by their forces.
Be diligent and we will survive and thrive. Much love.

thank you very much

You are very welcome and we need you. Be well and strong.

Hmm. I went through the walmart website and in my opinion they should have been able to tell it was fake, looks plastic with an orange tip, and as a former marine myself I think this is bullshit. Maybe in the heat of the moment you think its real but common sense dictates you should be able to tell if you spend years with one. And what kind of pussy bitch lets a supposed gunman aim a children and just watch.. But then again there is wnough blame to go around. The guy for pointing a toy gun at people, the former marine for being pog little cunt who cant identify a rifle, and police for not assessing a threat, but assuming on intel.

A marine. Finally. Before I ask my questions: I just want to show you the correct rifle (no orange tip) https://www.youtube.com/wat... & http://www.walmart.com/ip/C...

Would you be embarrassed to report that he was loading a weapon that you reported as being an assault rifle? Yet instead it turns out it was a pellet toy that loads tiny cartridges.

Or how about if you followed him for 3 minutes; Would you be able to discern a real life-threatening situation?

I would clown any fellow army vet that made that mistake.
Thank you dearly for your service.

First I apoligizes I read on a different sites claiming it was a ar 15 airsoft rifle but it didnt allow comments so I jumped on google and came here and sped read the article while watching tv. A air rifle would be less clear to determine but the outcome should have been the same. I would indeed be embarrassed to have accidently report a bbgun as an assault rifle, but in the heat of the moment if he was aiming at me or someone else, I see gun I see intent to shoot I engage and fire two to the chest one to the head. If he isnt pointing it at anyone I aim in tell him put the weapon on the ground hands in the air and further analyze the situation to determine he was holding a toy and not a threat