Skip to main content

Family of Kansas toddler killed by police files federal lawsuit

The family of a two-year-old Kansas girl fatally shot by a Missouri police officer during a standoff has filed a lawsuit blaming two cities, a county, and the officer for the death.

The family of a toddler who was fatally shot by a police officer during a standoff last year between her father and law enforcement has filed a federal lawsuit over her death.

Kansas authorities have said that 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford was shot by a Joplin, Missouri, police officer during a confrontation March 26, 2022, in Baxter Springs.

CHICAGO-AREA BOY, FAMILY REACH $12M SETTLEMENT OVER POLICE SHOOTING

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation had said Crawford's 37-year-old father, Eli Crawford, shot and killed the girl's mother, 27-year-old Taylor Dawn Shutte, and fired at officers for more than three hours before fatally shooting himself.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the girl's family sued the cities of Baxter Springs and Joplin along with Cherokee County and the unnamed officer who fired the shot that killed the toddler. The lawsuit said they were responsible for the girl's death.

TEXAS POLICE CHIEF ON LEAVE AFTER SWAT RAIDS WRONG HOUSE IN SEARCH OF SUSPECT FALSELY ACCUSED OF MURDER

Those cities and Cherokee County didn't immediately respond to calls from the newspaper seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Officers from the Joplin police department and Cherokee County sheriff's department responded to the standoff. Joplin is 15 miles northeast of Baxter Springs.

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.