The District identified the police officer who fatally shot an armed woman on April 23 as Simeon Crawford, but did not release body-camera footage of the incident at the request of the woman’s family, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Christopher Geldart said in a Monday letter to the council.
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Crawford, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, killed 42-year-old Erica Graham of Northwest Washington after police say she did not follow orders to put down her semiautomatic firearm.
This was not the first time the officer was involved in a shooting on the job. Crawford was placed on administrative leave in February 2021 after shooting a man who police said was armed and pointing a gun toward the officer. The man survived and was charged with assault of a police officer while armed. His case is still pending.
D.C. police identify woman fatally shot by officer
The April 23 deadly event unfolded about 6 a.m. in the 800 block of Crittenden Street NW, when officers responded to reports of a shooting. One group of officers found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound in one of her arms, while another encountered Graham on a nearby front porch. Authorities said she was dressed in a special police officer’s uniform and smashing windows while armed.
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D.C. police Chief Robert J. Contee III said officers shot her after ordering her to put down her firearm and to lie on the ground over the course of a minute or so.
Authorities said Graham is not registered as a special police officer in the District and is believed to have shot the other woman. Her family could not immediately be reached.
Crawford was placed on administrative leave while the department’s internal affairs unit investigates the incident, D.C. police said.
The city is required by law to release body-camera footage within five business days after an officer-involved shooting, pending family approval.
In the case of the 2021 shooting, D.C. police said the department completed the investigation and found Crawford’s actions “to be justified and within department policy.” He was later returned to full duty before the April shooting of Graham.