DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio city’s appeal arguing a police officer is immune from liability for fatally shooting a black man holding a pellet rifle inside a Walmart store has delayed a federal civil rights trial until later this year.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports U.S. District Judge Walter Rice has moved the trial from Feb. 4 until Oct. 28 while the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers Beavercreek’s immunity claim, filed Friday.
Rice previously ruled that the lawsuit against Beavercreek police officer Sean Williams, who shot 22-year-old John Crawford III in August 2014 within seconds of spotting him holding the unpackaged rifle, could continue.
Rice hasn’t decided yet whether a lawsuit filed against Walmart, which argues it wasn’t liable for the shooting, can continue.
Beavercreek’s law director declined to comment.
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