Ten years ago, on August 5th, 2014, Beavercreek Police Officer Sean Williams shot and killed John H Crawford III at a local Walmart store. Crawford was holding a BB gun he picked up while wandering the store aisles and talking on the phone with the mother of his children.
Ronald Ritchie, who was shopping at the same Walmart, saw Crawford and called 911. Ritchie reported that Crawford was carrying a loaded rifle and pointing it at people. A few minutes later, Williams and another officer rushed into the Walmart, guns drawn. Williams shot Crawford twice in a matter of seconds after seeing him.
Several days later, police killed another young, unarmed Black man named Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, leading to a series of uprisings that became known as the Black Lives Matter movement.
This one-hour documentary looks back at the 10 years since Crawford was killed. We revisit the community response to Crawford’s killing, and we hear from some of the people who were involved in this response – including Crawford’s father, activists and supporters, and the former Mayor of Beavercreek.
We learn how local community organizers have changed their views on justice and policing over the past decade. We also explore the legacy of this tragedy—what has been created here in the Miami Valley as a result and what advocates are still hoping to see.
This project was edited, scored, and mastered by Lewis Raven Wallace. To hear Wallace's 2015 documentary ("A Matter Of Seconds: A Look Back At The Year Since John Crawford III Was Killed") that inspired this project, click here.
This project was produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
Music Credits:
“Wildfires” by Sault
“RUNAWAY” by The Blaze
“Gloom” by Jahzzar
“August” by Marcel Pequel
“Maresia” by Jahzzar
“Lullaby” by Jahzzar
“Ashes” by Jahzzar
“Pure” by Jahzzar
