On February 21, 2011, at about 10:25 p.m., a city resident called the St. Petersburg Police Department after noticing a suspicious man walking in the rear yard of his home in the 700 block of 3rd Avenue South. Officer David Crawford and Officer Donald Ziglar were dispatched to the call.
As Dave circulated the area in his cruiser, he saw a man near the southwest corner of 2nd Avenue South and 8th Street South. He stopped, got out, and approached the suspect, who produced a handgun and shot him several times. Dave returned fire, but the suspect ran from the scene. Officer Ziglar found Dave near the driver's door of his cruiser. He was transported to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A 16-year-old suspect was identified through community tips and taken into custody the following afternoon.
Dave was born in St. Petersburg and grew up in Pinellas County, graduating from Seminole High School in 1982. He attended Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee.
He joined the St. Petersburg Police Department on November 21, 1984 and was sworn in as a police officer the following year. He spent most of his career on the midnight shift and was particularly successful in handling domestic disputes. He had a talent for calming people in crisis and was very supportive of domestic abuse victims. CASA leaders considered Dave “a particularly compassionate officer.”
Dave loved working off-duty at Tampa Bay Rays games. At home, he loved to work with his hands, fix things and barbecue. We remember him as a humble, quiet, dependable and trustworthy man who dedicated his life to the service of others.
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