Cop dragged to death, shoots twerp perp...

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Allen_Raiford

New member
Cincinnati Cop Dragged to Death

The Associated Press
Sep 1 2000 12:41PM ET


CINCINNATI (AP) - A city police officer trying to stop a car driven by a 12-year-old boy was dragged about 800 feet to his death early Friday as he tried to snatch the keys out of the ignition, police said. The boy was shot to death by the officer.

Officer Kevin Crayon, 40, died of head injuries suffered when he fell from the moving car, police said. The driver, Courtney Mathis, died about four hours later after undergoing emergency surgery at Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Witnesses to the confrontation in a convenience store parking lot told police that Crayon reached into the car after Courtney refused to show the officer a driver's license at about 12:45 a.m., Police Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. said. The witnesses said the boy began backing the car erratically toward several small children.

``I'd like to think the officer was trying to save the children from serious injury or death,'' Streicher said. ``Unfortunately, as the result of his own actions trying to save someone's life, he sacrificed his own life.''

Courtney drove off zigzagging down the street as Crayon pulled out his service revolver while being dragged, witnesses told police.

``Officer Crayon fired one round, striking Courtney Mathis in the chest area,'' the chief said.

Though wounded, Courtney continued driving and struck another car before he drove home and told family members he had been shot by police, Streicher said. Family members called 911.

The maroon Ford Taurus that Courtney was driving belonged to a family member who had been unaware what the boy was doing, police were told.

Crayon, a father of three, had been a Cincinnati officer since 1996.

The officer died ``because some young punk was driving a car. It's unbelievable,'' said Keith Fangman, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police. Across the street from police headquarters, flags at a memorial for slain officers flew at half staff.

It marked the first Cincinnati police death since two officers were killed in December 1997 while trying to serve a warrant.
 
This is becoming an epidemic. Two things come to mind, other than the loss of another police officer.
One, the 12 year old will be used in HCI and CeaseFires statistics of another child killed by a handgun.
Two, will the parents be charged with allowing the kid to take the car? Oh, I know that they didn't know he had taken it. But if he had taken a gun and killed a police officer with it the parents would be charged and there would be more call for trigger locks, safes and all gun owners locking their guns away.
My sympathy to the officers family, fellow officers and department.

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Gunslinger

I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
 
Not to take away from the seriousness of this issue but it's funny how no one seems to demand steering wheel locks for cars. How many kids have been killed joy riding? How many innocent bystanders? How many LEO's? No one screaming for mandatory clubs???

But they want trigger locks for the children..... :mad:

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"Some people spend an entire liftime wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem."
Semper Fi
 
What are all those "several small children" doing out by a store at 12:45am? Isnt that way past their bed time?


Oh we should be screaming for Child Locks! Save the children lock them up ;)

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Dead [Black Ops]
 
Now let me see if I've got this right. The antis say that if everybody that wants to own/use a firearm must first be licensed, just like we license people that drive a car, there would no longer be any firearm deaths 'cause if they don't have a license, they can't use a firearm.

Damn! If that 12-year-old kid had a license, that cop (and the kid) would be alive today.

Numbers
 
Two senseless deaths here. (sigh)!

Another example of where we're all heading now.

It seems nobody respects any form of authorithy anymore. But then, when we have a chronic liar(s) in the Wh(it)(or)ehouse, what can we expect.
I was always taught that respect is earned.

And that if you tried to disrespect you're parents, of certain other adults, you were looking for an a$$ whoopin'.
Beleive me, I tested the concept many times growing up, and verified that my parents had the resolve to hold fast with their convictions, and responsibilities.

Oh, and auto's in America have had to have steering/ignition locks since the early '70's.
 
We had nearly the exact same thing happen here in Idaho a couple years back, only this time it was a 22 year old drunk (with several priors) who dragged the cop down the road. The officer managed a wild shot into the car that killed the driver. The car crashed into some parked cars and the officer survived.

The community is still in the process of crucifying the officer and the dept. for using excessive force. :(
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by George Hill:
You know - the parents should be keel hauled.

I think we need to put locks on CARS...[/quote]

I think we should put locks on idiots ovaries .



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TOM
SASS AMERICAN LEGION NRA GOA
 
If this kid was regularly and negligently allowed to drive, then I can see going after the parents.

But, gee .... a kid getting hold of car keys? I know in my home, my wife's keys hang from the door to the garage (double key deadbolt) ... and, if my oldest boy got a wild hair, he could steal the car. But, he's a good kid, and I've never seen that kind of behavior from him.

I just think it depends upon the circumstances. I always wince a bit when folks want to hang the parents right away. Being a parent isn't easy, and kids do have their own personalities.

Regards from AZ
 
A few comments and a more detailed article on this tragedy.

If one claims that "children" are not responsible for the very adult crimes they commit but also exonerates parents of any reponsiblity, then blame for these incidents will likely fall on the collective lap of society. I am afraid most of us would not want to shoulder that blame, especially when there appear to be a number of the delinquent children who demonstrate a primitive ability to reason and percieve that what they plan to do is wrong (look at the efforts of young Courtney in this incident and several high school shooters went through to mask their actions from parental figures who they know would disapprove).

I hereby nominate Courtney for this year's Darwin Awards.
Jeff

The Cincinnati Post
http://www.cincypost.com/news/after090200.html

'A mother's heart was crushed'
By Mike Rutledge and Ken Wilson, Post staff reporters
Cincinnati Police Officer Kevin Crayon, a father of three, was known for his devotion to his church and work with children. But he died Friday after fatally shooting a 12-year-old.
Courtney Mathis had no criminal record and had just begun seventh grade. But police say he dragged Crayon 800 feet to his death while driving a car erratically down Colerain Avenue in predawn darkness, before being shot.
Police and two heartbroken families struggled Friday to make the pieces fit in the tragedy's aftermath.
''A mother's heart was crushed,'' said Vicki Albright- Travis, Crayon's sister. ''Not only the Crayon family, but the young man's mother has lost someone.''
''There is a whole lot we don't have answers to,'' said Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher.
Crayon, 40, of District 5, is the first Cincinnati police officer killed in the line of duty since the 1997 deaths of Ronald Jeter and Daniel Pope.
Eyewitnesses say Courtney was driving a Ford Taurus alone in the parking lot of a UDF store at Kirby Road and Colerain shortly before 12:30 a.m. Friday. When Crayon approached and asked Courtney for a driver's license, the boy refused and ''began backing the Taurus in a reckless manner,'' nearly striking several children in the parking lot, Streicher said.
Crayon reached inside the car with both hands, apparently to grab the keys, and was dragged backward as Courtney backed up, then hung on as the youth zig-zagged down Colerain. Crayon managed to fire one round into Courtney's chest before he was thrown from the vehicle. He landed beneath a car stopped at a red light.
Courtney drove on, striking another vehicle before arriving at his Bahama Terrace home where relatives called 911. Cincinnati Fire Division rescue took Courtney to Children's Hospital, where he died at 5:07 a.m.
Police said no motorists stopped, but late Friday they had found the driver of the car struck by Courtney. They are still searching for the car before which Officer Crayon lay dying. They would not release details about the two cars, or say if either had hit Crayon.
Streicher theorized that the deadly episode may have been spawned by the youth's fear that he faced traffic and curfew violation charges when the officer approached him.
''From that, this deteriorated into the death of two individuals,'' Streicher said.
Crayon, who had recently transferred to District 5 from District 1, became a Cincinnati police officer in July 1996.
Although his family is grieving, their belief that his police work was part of a higher plan helps them, they said Friday night.
''Kevin was great at what he did. Kevin was a professional,'' said Ms. Albright-Travis.
She, along with Crayon's aunts, Jackie Stafford and Sandra King, fondly recalled his dedication and faith. Last summer, Crayon was one of 11 city officers who took more than 100 children fishing in Clermont County.
Kevin Brown, a community police officer in Mount Airy, attended Crayon's church - Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church in Woodlawn. He called the officer and his family ''strong spiritually.''
''Kevin was very well-respected,'' said Cincinnati Police Specialist Scotty Johnson. ''He knew almost all of the business owners. You heard nothing but positive things. He took time to walk the beat and got to know the people. The entire community is mourning.''
Police officers across the city Friday drew black masking tape across their badges, and city flags will fly at half-mast. Police clergy teams provided counseling.
''It's going to be full police honors,'' local FOP President Keith Fangman said of Thursday's funeral for Crayon.
A procession will wind from his church to Oak Hill Cemetery in Springdale Thursday. Visitation will be noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Thompson, Hall and Jordan Funeral Home, Forest Park. A second visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday at Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, 9991 North Wayne Ave., before services at noon.
The church also will hold another funeral - for Courtney. But details were still being worked out Friday.
The child's family issued a statement through their attorney: ''The family and friends of Courtney Mathis are grieving his tragic death,'' said Joseph Suhre IV in a faxed statement. ''Courtney's family wishes to express their deepest sympathies to all persons affected by this incident. At this time we have no further comment, as we are waiting the results of our investigation as well as the City of Cincinnati's investigation.''
Friends in Courtney's Mount Airy neighborhood said he laughed often.
''He was cool,'' said Chephren Mann, 16. ''He'd be out here tossing the football around.''
''He just made a big mistake,'' said Jermane Enoch, who moved to Colerain Towers in May. ''I thought that he was older. He appeared to be about 16 or 17. He smiled a lot. He always used to say 'How are you doing, Mr. Enoch'? ''
Cincinnati Public Schools officials said Courtney had just registered at the Jacobs Center.
The FOP has set up a memorial fund at all Fifth Third Bank locations to benefit Officer Crayon's children, Kevin II, 19; Christopher, 16; and Brittany, 13, all of Atlanta.
He also is survived by parents, Barbara and Herbert Albright of Springdale; brothers, Shawn Crayon, Keith Albright and Vincent Toran of Cincinnati; and grandparents, Carl Jones Sr. and Ruby Jones, and Josephine Albright, all of Cincinnati.
Publication date: 09-02-00
 
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