CINCINNATI – A special prosecutor will determine whether to charge a 911 caller who reported a man waving a gun in an Ohio Wal-Mart before police fatally shot the shopper, who'd picked up an air rifle from a shelf.
Whether the caller is charged with making a false alarm will be up to the same prosecutor who in 2014 presented the case to a grand jury. It concluded the shooting of 22-year-old John Crawford III at the Beavercreek store, near Dayton, was justified.
Activists have used an obscure law to push for prosecution of the 911 caller, who told investigators he thought the firearm was real.
The Hamilton County prosecutor's office confirmed Thursday that chief assistant prosecutor Mark Piepmeier (PEEP'-meye-ur) was appointed to review the matter. The office said he wouldn't comment.
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