JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office lieutenant who shot four times into a semi-truck on Interstate 95 in March will not be charged in connection with the incident, the State Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Based on all the evidence, including physical reconstruction and witness testimony, the State Attorney’s Office concluded that it “cannot establish beyond a reasonable doubt that [Lt. Marc Crawford’s] use of deadly force was unjustifiable.”
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“Accordingly, there is no reasonable probability of securing a conviction, and criminal charges will not be filed in this matter,” an assistant state attorney wrote in a disposition statement released to News4JAX.
According to investigators, Lt. Crawford, who has over 20 years of experience and was off-duty at the time, and a 70-year-old truck driver were involved in a traffic incident on southbound I-95 between Philips Highway and Emerson Street during rush hour on March 10.
Investigators said the evidence establishes that the semi-tractor-trailer driver was involved in an initial collision that occurred when Crawford attempted to merge. Following that impact, investigators said, the truck struck Crawford’s vehicle a second time and pushed it forward for an undetermined distance. During this sequence, Crawford said that he “feared imminent death or great bodily harm and discharged his firearm.”
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The precise sequence of events could not be conclusively established, investigators said, but it is clear that during or immediately after the second contact, Crawford fired his gun four times. Two bullets entered the truck’s cabin, and one struck the driver in the stomach, investigators said. But the round did not penetrate the body of the driver, likely because its velocity was reduced after passing through the truck’s frame.
Several days after the incident, Crawford provided a written statement to investigators detailing his account. Crawford said that while attempting to merge in front of the truck, he heard the truck’s engine rev to full power, as if accelerating to prevent the merge or to strike his car. Crawford reported feeling a “substantial impact,” at which point he said he activated his emergency lights and attempted to stop.
According to Crawford, as he tried to exit his car, the truck accelerated again and continued pushing his car toward stopped traffic and the concrete median. Crawford said that he heard the truck downshift and felt his vehicle being forced forward. At that time, Crawford said the driver-side door was open, his feet were on the running board, and he was holding onto the vehicle to avoid falling into the roadway. Crawford said he feared that he would either fall into the truck’s path or be crushed between the truck and other vehicles, so he shot at the driver.
Crawford said he stopped firing when his vehicle veered left, out of the truck’s path, and struck the concrete barrier.
Upon exiting his truck, witnesses said the truck driver appeared confused and said that he had no understanding of what had happened. During his interview with detectives, the driver said he was unaware of any collision and only realized something was wrong when he heard gunfire and felt an impact to his stomach. The driver said it was at that point he observed Crawford’s car against the concrete barrier and saw Crawford yelling for him to stop.
The truck driver said he had been driving in stop-and-go traffic in the second lane from the left and had just lit a cigar when he began hearing gunshots. He told investigators that traffic was moving at approximately 20 mph or less. The driver said his practice, given the weight of his load, is to focus on traffic ahead rather than the vehicle directly in front of him to allow sufficient reaction time.
Investigators said a recreation of the incident confirmed that the driver likely could not have seen the car during the first point of contact. But unlike the initial impact, investigators said the reconstruction suggested the driver likely could have—or should have—observed Crawford’s car being pushed in front of his truck as it veered toward the barrier after the second collision.
Crash investigators found Crawford at fault for the crash and a diagram showed the two positions that Crawford’s vehicle was in during the traffic incident. The driver was not charged.
Detectives identified six witnesses during their investigation. Of the six witnesses who volunteered information about the incident, only two of them claimed to have seen the shooting.
“In this matter, the State cannot establish the precise sequence of events leading to [Crawford’s] use of force. Significant factual disputes and gaps exist among witness accounts regarding critical details of [Crawford’s] claim. These inconsistencies prevent the State from rebutting [Crawford’s] version of events beyond a reasonable doubt,” Assistant State Attorney Chris Huband wrote. “Because [Crawford’s] assertions cannot be conclusively disproven through physical evidence or reliable witness testimony, the State must largely evaluate his actions based on his own account and the circumstances supported by the available evidence. Importantly, with respect to [Crawford’s] belief—which is central to this inquiry—it is immaterial whether [the driver] actually intended to commit a forcible felony. The relevant question is whether the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that [Crawford’s] belief that [the driver] was acting intentionally was unreasonable under the circumstances that precipitated his use of deadly force. Given the unresolved factual issues, evidentiary gaps, and conflicting testimony, the State does not have a reasonable probability of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that [Crawford’s] use of deadly force was not justified. Accordingly, the State cannot proceed with criminal charges in this matter."
A JSO spokesman said Tuesday the agency has read the disposition from the State Attorney’s Office, and the incident is now under an administrative investigation within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Unit. Crawford continues to be administratively reassigned, without police powers.
JSO said in the past that Crawford was reassigned to the Tele-Serv team following the shooting, the unit that handles reports on minor incidents over the phone, to relieve officers to handle more serious investigations.
Read the entire disposition below: