Federal judge rejects city of Joplin's effort to have KBI report on Clesslyn Crawford's death destroyed

A federal judge earlier this month rejected what appears to be an effort by Joplin city officials to be given permission to destroy their copy of the KBI investigation into the 2022 killing of 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford by a Joplin Police Department sniper during a standoff with the child's father in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

The decision by Judge Eric F. Melgren, which was issued October 1 in U. S. District Court for the District of Kansas, appears to be an effort to keep the city from having to release the report following media Sunshine Law requests.

Attorney Karl Blanchard representing the city of Joplin filed a request to reopen the civil suit filed by Carla Crawford, Clesslyn's grandmother, for the limited purpose of determining if the city could destroy the report.

The judge had allowed all parties in the lawsuit to use the KBI report for the sole purpose of mediation. The case was settled in August 2023 with Crawford and the child's grandfather, Richard Anderson, splitting $1.5 million- $1.4 million from Joplin, $50,000 from Baxter Springs and $50,000 from Cherokee County. The copies of the KBI report were to be destroyed by August 31, 2023, and it appears Joplin complied with that provision.

The problem facing Joplin officials in their efforts to keep from turning over the documents with the sniper's name included is that sometime during September or October 2023, interim acting police chief Brian Lewis requested and received a copy of the report from the KBI as part of what appears to be an internal investigation into the sniper.

In his motion to reopen the case, Blanchard strongly hinted he wanted the judge to take the decision out of the city's hands and order the documents destroyed, saying a reason he filed the request was for "determining whether or not the Protective Order is still valid and binding on all parties to the Case or if it is no longer in effect."

Blanchard did not mention anything about the internal investigation or that the city had a copy of the KBI report that was turned over after the August 31 deadline.

That information was provided to the judge a week later by the KBI.

The KBI has, outside of this litigation and absent a protective order, provided case documents to the then acting chief of the Joplin, Missouri Police Department in September / October of 2023 for use in an internal investigation. Those records were provided from one law enforcement agency to another, and once provided became records of the City of Joplin, Missouri Police Department.

If the protective order was followed, the only records now in the possession of the Joplin, Missouri Police Department related to the underlying incident should be those subsequently provided to then acting Chief Brian Lewis. 

The KBI said only the documents that were provided for use in the lawsuit were required to be destroyed.

 The judge agreed.

The KBI, as an interested party, filed a response in opposition to Joplin City’s motion. The KBI contends that its investigation report is not subject to the Protective Order, and thus any requests for it should be dealt with according to the Missouri Open Records law. The Court agrees with the KBI. Although “a federal court may consider collateral issues after an action is no longer pending, there are no collateral issues for the Court to consider here because the KBI investigation report given to acting Chief Lewis is not subject to the Protective Order. 

When Sunshine Law requests were being made to the city of Joplin for documents concerning the death of Clesslyn Crawford, city officials took the unusual step of letting the lawyer for the sniper know they planned to follow the law and release the documents.

That information is provided in the motion by the sniper, referred to as John Doe in Jasper County Circuit Court records, for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against releasing his name.

On November 16, 2023, the City’s Attorney notified Officer Doe’s attorney that the City intends to release unredacted documents containing Officer Doe’s identity in response to the Dagley and KCUR requests unless a Court intervenes in such disclosure. Although the timing is unclear, this disclosure is anticipated to happen as soon as November 21, 2023.

John Doe's petition said he has been the target of an anonymous Facebook group Blue Wall of Silence, which has offered a cash reward "for the name of the Joplin, Missouri officer who fired the lethal bullet into the skull of a little toddler in pink pajamas last March in Kansas," and which has posted other messages the petition describes as "disturbing."

The release of Doe's name could cause harm to the officer and his family, the petition said.

Here, the evidence cited above shows that the release of Officer Doe’s name “is reasonably likely to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of” him and perhaps his family.

 The lawyer representing a KCUR reporter, one of those who filed Sunshine Law requests, filed a motion to dismiss the sniper's action, noting why the information should be made public.

On March 26, 2022, the Joplin Police Department SWAT Team was called to assist with a hostage situation in Baxter Springs, Kansas. During the incident, Joplin Police Officer John Doe shot and killed two-year-old Clesslynn Crawford, who was being held hostage.

Despite the fact Doe’s actions in killing the two-year-old child cost the City of Joplin $1.4 million, Doe apparently remains a sniper with the Joplin SWAT team. 

The lawyer noted that information about the sniper's job status was included in the sniper's request for the temporary restraining order and permanent injunction.

November 20 will mark one year since the sniper filed his motion. Online court records indicate nothing has been filed in the case since April and no hearings have been scheduled. The judge for the case is David Mouton.

(This post has been changed to reflect that Carla Crawford is Clesslyn Crawford’s grandmother, not her mother.)

(Note: Information from the KBI report was included in the KCUR investigation, which I featured in the March 25 Turner Report. The link can be found below.)

The Turner Report: A Joplin police officer killed a 2-year-old- Why did he take the shot? (rturner229.blogspot.com)