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Rally held for Fairfield man fatally shot by police inside Wal-Mart

Posted at 6:59 PM, Jul 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-31 18:59:09-04

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- More than 200 people gathered at a rally remembering a man fatally shot by police two years ago inside an Ohio Wal-Mart.

The event Saturday afternoon in Dayton honored John Crawford III, a black man from Fairfield.

A 911 caller had reported a man waving a gun at the Beavercreek store on Aug. 5, 2014. It was actually an air rifle from a shelf. Police say he refused to drop it.

The officer wasn't charged, in one of a series of cases around the nation raising concern about police encounters with black men.

Speakers encouraged attendees to call for justice and vote.

The rally came two days after the attorney for the Crawford family called for a conclusion to the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the shooting.