City spends $430K to defend officers in Wal-Mart shooting

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio – An Ohio city has spent over $430,000 defending two officers in connection with the fatal police shooting of a man at a Wal-Mart who was carrying an air rifle from a store shelf.

The Dayton Daily News (http://bit.ly/2ppMDy0 ) reports the cost to the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek includes about $210,000 paid to two law firms.

The city’s law director says outside counsel was necessary. Crawford family attorney Michael Wright says the money could have gone toward a settlement for the family.

An officer fatally shot John Crawford III in 2014 after a 911 call about someone waving a rifle at the Wal-Mart. Police say he didn’t obey commands to drop what later turned out to be an air rifle.

A federal probe for any possible civil rights violations is continuing.

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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com