No charges filed against PPD officer who shot and killed Tymar Crawford

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WEAR-TV) — The State Attorney has announced no criminal charges will be filed against the Pensacola Police officer who shot and killed 28-year-old Tymar Crawford.

After a week-long of testimony and deliberations, the Grand Jury has decided to return a "NO TRUE BILL" meaning that they have determined that criminal charges are not appropriate, says the state.

According to the state attorney, the Grand Jury has issued a report of specific findings and recommendations.

Channel 3 News spoke with Haley Morrisette the Transformative Justice Lead with the Dream Defenders who gave the following statement about the Grand Jury's decision on the case.

STATEMENT

I'm very disappointed ... this is very painful for me right now. A lot of healing will need to be done for the community after hearing this.

Pensacola Police also issued a statement regarding the Grand Jury's decision and the release of the body cam video.

STATEMENT

Today, Oct. 25, 2019, the Escambia County Grand Jury made the decision not to indict former Pensacola Police Department Det. Daniel Siemen in the July 5 shooting death of Tymar Crawford.

“Upon the release of the video, it will be difficult to watch, and we hope that the public and media will treat this with the sensitivity it deserves,” Pensacola Police Chief Tommi Lyter said. “Pensacola Police officers hold themselves to a high standard and work hard to develop and maintain trust with the public we serve, and we are committed to continuing to foster relationships across our entire community. We appreciate the work of the Grand Jury and respect their decision. We will review the Grand Jury report and its recommendations.”

On Oct. 3, 2019, after a thorough internal investigation into the incident, the Pensacola Police Department terminated Siemen for violating the department’s use of deadly force policy.

“We appreciate the patience of the family of Tymar Crawford and the entire Pensacola community as we waited for the outcome of the Grand Jury investigation,” Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said. “This has been a difficult process for everyone, and we hope that we can continue to come together as a community and move forward. With the termination of Daniel Siemen, PPD did everything within their authority to make it clear that this incident is not reflective of the values and culture of the Pensacola Police Department.”

With the conclusion of the Grand Jury proceedings, the Pensacola Police Department is preparing responses to new and previously received public records requests.

FAMILY REACTS TO JURY'S DECISION

Morisette with Dream Defenders says Crawford's family is shocked by the grand jury’s decision but they expected that no charges would be presented against former Pensacola Police Detective Daniel Siemen.

On Friday, the family's Attorney Joe Zarzaur, held a news conference saying Siemen was fired in 2014 because he didn't have the disposition to be an officer. But according to Siemen's HR personnel file, he resigned.

Zarzaur added "This fight has just begun. I will be their fighter." The family will hold a candlelight vigil Friday at 7 p.m. for Crawford at the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza in downtown Pensacola.

COMMUNITY REACTS TO JURY'S DECISION

After Channel 3 News broke the story online the community immediately began to comment and covey their feelings regarding the Grand Jury's decision.

BACKGROUND ON SHOOTING

According to the Pensacola Police Department (PPD), officers were attempting a traffic stop on Crawford on July 5 after officers smelled marijuana coming from the car.

PPD says Crawford refused to pull over and as he continued to drive officers saw Crawford throwing narcotics out the window before he eventually pulled over.

Investigators say when Crawford pulled over outside a home on C and Brainerd Streets, where officers tried to make an arrest.

Pensacola Police Officer Mike Wood told us when the officer tried to arrest Crawford, "A fight ensued after that. The individual attempted and then eventually did disarm one of the officers and the other officer fired his weapon, striking the suspect. "

Crawford was shot and transported to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) was called out to comb through the crime scene to assist with the investigation which PPD told us was protocol.

Officer Wood added "We have a lot of questions to get answered. FDLE is out here to assist with the investigation which is protocol."

As officials continued to gather information and investigate the shooting, people who lived in the community began to express their views about the incident.

Clorisa Kimbrough, a citizen in the area said: "It's just ridiculous that you can't even drive in your own neighborhood without fear of being victimized by the people who are supposed to be protecting you."

Kimbrough added "He has family. He has kids. He grew up in this area and no matter the case he didn't deserve this. Nobody deserves this. They're not the judge. He didn't have a trial and now he didn't have a voice."

During this time, Channel 3 News obtained cellphone footage from a viewer showing moments Tymar Crawford was shot by a PPD officer where you can hear onlookers at the scene creaming and even calling out Crawford's name.

The Pensacola Police Detective, Daniel Siemen, who shot Crawford was placed on administrative leave as officials continued to investigate the incident.

TYMAR CRAWFORD'S FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS SPEAK OUT

A day following the shooting, Crawford's family and friends spoke out and some say they witness the whole incident unfold from their front porch.

Kimberly Henderson, Crawford's girlfriend refuted what Pensacola Police said regarding Crawford fighting with police.

"He was holding his hands up when the narcotics officer started punching him," Henderson said. "There were four cops on him and they were tasering him."

Charnell Palmer, Crawford's mother said: "They shot my son in cold blood, with his hands in the air, with his son watching, they killed my son in front of his family."

When Channel 3 News learned of Crawford getting arrested in August 2018 for a drug charge, his mother told us "No matter what his hustle was, he would give back to the community," said Palmer.

Crawford's neighbor, Annie Walker even expressed her view on the shooting. Walker told us it didn't matter if he had a criminal record or not because he already did his time.

"To me it was murder. I heard the gunshots and was appalled when I saw the man was actually dead," said Walker.

Walker added, " With all the officers, they should have just restrained him. There was no reason to shoot him in front of his family. If I had nightmares last night, I can't even imagine how those kids felt. I'm sure they'll need counseling."

THE COMMUNITY REACTS

Since Crawford's death, members of the community held several marches in Pensacola protesting his death.

An activist group called the 'Dream Defenders', who say they fight social injustices; rallied together and became the face of the demonstration along with Crawford's family.

On July 15, Tymar Crawford's family, the Dream Defenders along with community supporters hit the pavement and marched to Pensacola Police Department chanting, holding signs and wearing shirts in Crawford's memory.

During the march, members of the community spoke openly about the shooting and voiced the officers should have considered alternative methods.

Crawford's pastor Otis Wilson said "I mean, you can do other things. Taze them... I've seen people being tazed before. We just trying to stop the violence because violence create hate."

The family waited anxiously for answers as FDLE and Pensacola Police continued their investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

PENSACOLA POLICE OFFICER TERMINATED

Months after the officer-involved shooting, Pensacola Police announced Detective, Daniel Siemen was terminated from the department and their internal investigation revealed violated the department’s Deadly Use of Force policy, which policy states:

Deadly force may be used when a sworn member of the Pensacola police force reasonably believes an individual poses a threat of death or serious physical harm to an officer or others.

FORMER PENSACOLA POLICE DETECTIVE DANIEL SIEMEN’S BACKGROUND

Following the former detective's termination, Channel 3 News obtained more than 300 pages of documents from his personnel file including HR information and his training record.

The personnel files revealed Siemen joined Pensacola Police in May 2014 and for unknown reasons, he resigned in September of that year and later rejoined the department in July 2015.

While researching through Siemens files, we found no previous use of force violations in his background. However, Siemens was terminated for one day in 2017 for misconduct when he failed to report a domestic violence incident involving a fellow officer, says the report.

Channel 3 News will continue to provide you updates on the development of the case.