A Maryland police chief withdrew after decades by force only to spend much of the next ten years unleashing a series of incendiary attacks against his perceived enemies, according to a series of charges revealed Wednesday.
David Crawford, 69, a former police chief in Laurel, Maryland, is charged with attempted murder and a dozen fires from 2011 to 2020. He had resigned from the police department in 2010. He is charged with 20 felonies only in Prince George ‘s County, according to the The Baltimore Sun.—Four crimes of attempted murder in the first degree, four of attempted murder in the second degree, one of arson in the first degree, five of fires in the second degree and six of malicious fires. But this is not the only jurisdiction in which Crawford is prosecuted. He has also been charged in Montgomery, Frederick and Charles counties. He faces 32 felony counts in those three counties.
The fires in question followed a pattern, police said: a hooded figure approached the target, poured gasoline from gallon jars and lit the flame with a stick wrapped in cloth.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Prince George’s County Fire Department said: “Throughout the investigation, it was determined that the structures and vehicles that Crawford intentionally burned were connected to the victims with whom he had previous disagreements.” .
Crawford allegedly went after public officials, the police chief who replaced him, a woman who had taught a training program for his wife who mentioned the “white privilege,” two doctors who had previously treated him for ‘a back injury, a neighbor of Ellicott City, Maryland. , and their own relatives, including a stepson, whom he allegedly attacked the house three times. Crawford’s search history included the addresses of several of his intended victims, according to police.
“All the fires were at night. In six of the fires, the victim and his families were sleeping inside their homes, “the firefighters continued. Investigators said Crawford hid his identity from surveillance cameras with hooded sweatshirts. He allegedly set fire to cars, garages and houses.
Strangely, a LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Crawford draws a decidedly more cheerful picture of the alleged retired police chief turned arsonist. In the biography, Crawford describes himself as a “lover of the people” and lists one of his personal mottos as, “Find the positive.”
He also recalls the important advice of a mentor: “95% of your law enforcement challenges dissolve if you remember to talk to people the way you want them to talk to you and treat people the way you want them to. let them treat you “.