911 caller won't be charged in Ohio Walmart police shooting

A 911 caller won't be charged for reporting a man waving a gun in an Ohio Wal-Mart store before police fatally shot the shopper, who'd picked up an air rifle from a shelf, a special prosecutor said today.

The decision was made by Mark Piepmeier, the prosecutor who presented the shooting case to a grand jury. The grand jury concluded the August 2014 shooting of John Crawford III at the Beavercreek store, near Dayton, was justified.

The grand jury had authority to bring charges against 911 caller Ronald Ritchie if merited but didn't, Piepmeier said in a court filing outlining his findings that no charges are warranted.

"I don't find any evidence that Mr. Ritchie knew any of the information he was providing was false," Piepmeier wrote.

The Hamilton County prosecutor's office, where Piepmeier is chief assistant prosecutor, said he wouldn't comment further.

A group of people who took interest in the shooting had used an obscure law to push for prosecution of Ritchie, who told investigators he thought the firearm was real.