NEWS

As mom grieves, Wal-Mart shooting death unresolved

Keith BieryGolick

kbierygolick@enquirer.com

Tressa Sherrod, whose son, John Crawford III, 22, was shot and killed by a Beavercreek police officer while holding an an air rifle/pellet gun he picked up from a store shelf in a Beavercreek Wal-Mart store, visits her son's grave in Spring Grove Cemetery on the one-year anniversary of his death. Sherrod lives in Colerain Township. She sits at the grave at least once a week, sometimes accompanied by her mother, Annie Trimm, of Bond Hill.

SPRING GROVE VILLAGE Standing a few feet from where her 22-year-old son is buried, Tressa Sherrod grabs her stomach.

In her hand is a wrinkled ball of paper that covered a bouquet of flowers she placed next to his headstone.

"I'm sick to my stomach," Sherrod said.

Behind black sunglasses, the 46-year-old woman explained away the stomach pains as side effects from medicine she is taking because of recent dental problems. But that's only half the story.

Wednesday marks one year since a police officer shot and killed her son, John Crawford III, while he was holding an air rifle in a Beavercreek Wal-Mart. The case was presented to a Green County grand jury, but no charges were brought against Beavercreek Police Officer Sean Williams.

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office responsible for the Dayton area are reviewing what happened. Surveillance cameras captured video, with no audio, of the incident.

The video shows Crawford standing with the air rifle at his side when a officer enters the store and fatally shoots him. Crawford does not appear to notice the officer before he is shot. Sherrod, who listened to her son take his final breaths over a speaker phone, hasn't watched it.

This is a screenshot from Video released last year showing the fatal police shooting of Fairfield resident John Crawford III at the Beavercreek Wal-Mart store.

Attorney Michael Wright, who is representing the family, said he believes the officer will eventually be indicted.

"I would hope that they have not made this family wait for an entire year to tell them they are not going to do anything," Wright told The Enquirer in a phone interview.

"The family can't even begin the process of closure until they get answers."

Wright filed a civil lawsuit against Beavercreek police and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., alleging negligence and violation of Crawford's civil rights. The city and Wal-Mart have denied the allegations.

The case is currently scheduled for trial in 2017. The delay hurts, Wright said, especially after a murder indictment in a recent shooting involving a University of Cincinnati police officer came in less than two weeks after the incident.

"I don’t know if we are any closer to justice than we were on Aug. 5, 2014 (the day Crawford was killed)," he said.

Tressa Sherrod, whose son, John Crawford III, 22, was shot and killed by a Beavercreek police officer while holding an air rifle/pellet gun he picked up from a store shelf in a Beavercreek Wal-Mart store wears a shirt bearing her son's image. She is in Spring Grove Cemetery where he is buried.

On Wednesday, Sherrod grabbed her lawn chair and sat down next to her son. Her orange hair, done in tight curls, almost glistened in the hot sun. She is not sure she is up to a lot of talking today.

She visits him at least once a week, mostly in the morning. She talks to him, tells him she loves him.

Tressa Sherrod, left, stands with her son, John Crawford III, who was killed Aug. 5, 2014.

"I update him on my life, the family, how his kids are doing -- I just talk about everything," Sherrod said.

Behind Crawford's grave, an ant crawled up a purple ribbon that connects the word "DAD" to a flower wreath placed on the ground. Crawford, who grew up in Cincinnati and lived in Fairfield when he was killed, left behind two toddlers.

The 2-year-old used to spend most nights sleeping on Crawford's chest or in his arms. He never cried, Sherrod said, but the boy wouldn't sleep or eat in the days following Crawford's death.

Sherrod's own mother came to pay her respects this day as well. Standing at her grandchild's grave, Annie Trimm reminisced about babysitting little John Crawford III when he was younger.

"He was always my favorite," said Trimm.

The 70-year-old Bond Hill resident remembered a 5-year-old Crawford pulling pots and pans out of cabinets in their kitchen, then inserting his head inside for fun.

"He drove my husband crazy," Trimm said. "He was a very hyper boy."

"I get mad every time I come here," Sherrod said as she surveys the cemetery. "I'm mad at everyone."

She listed off Attorney General Mike DeWine, Special Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier, the Beavercreek Police Department and the person who called 911 on her son, before taking a second to compose herself.

"I shouldn't be standing here looking down at him. He should be standing here looking down at me," Sherrod said.

Sherrod has purchased the plot next to her son's. It is for her.

After a 90-minute stay, she is set to head back to Beavercreek where the Wal-Mart where Crawford was killed had plans to close for the night. A vigil, balloon launch and other demonstrations are planned to call attention to her son's case.

Sherrod steps toward her car, then turns back around to say goodbye. Wearing a shirt bearing her son's image, John Crawford III's mother bent down, leaning toward his gravestone.

Then she blew a kiss in his direction.