Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Well Done!!!!! Officer JG was truly a 24-hour cop. He never stopped policing. Thanks for keeping Atlanta safer. Miss You!!

Bobbi Doe
Atlanta Police Department- Friend/Co-Worker

July 11, 2012

Rest in Peace, Officer Crawford. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Officer 11169

February 17, 2012

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 34th anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer murdered in the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Time never dimishes respect and your memory wili always be honored and revered. I pray for solace for all those who love and miss you for I know both the pain and pride are forever.
Your brother in blue who wrote so movingly about the night of your death is proof of how vivid the details stay with those who were involved. I am glad that your family received the benefits that were certainly deserved.

Rest In Peace

Phyllis Loya
Mom of fallen California Officer Larry Lasater, Pittsburg PD, eow 4/24/05

January 14, 2012

OFFICER CRAWFORD, MAY GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE. A HERO FOR SURE. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE. YOU HAVE SERVED WELL.

CHIEF RONNIE WATFORD-RET.
JEFFERSON POLICE DEPT,S.C.

January 14, 2008

YOU ARE REMEMBERED TODAY AND THANK YOU SIR FOR YOUR SERVICE

VANDENBERGHE
MANCAHESTER, N H

January 5, 2008

"The Badge"

He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.

He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.

Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.

He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.

His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.

He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.

And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.

But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.

Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.

Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.

So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.

In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.

Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

December 23, 2007

G-d Bless.

January 14, 2007

James Gerald Crawford (Jerry) was a friend and partner. He and I worked a two man car in Lakewood Heights - Carver Homes area of Atlanta’s Zone 3. Our beat was a high crime area with one of the largest public housing projects in the City. It was enjoyable working with Jerry. As partners we formed a bond of trust that helped us survive night after night and call after call. Jerry was a graduate of Clark College and an account. I used to laugh when he messed up his checking account and spent more than he should. He could tell me how to stay out of debt but couldn’t keep up with his own money.

The kids on our beat called us Officer Friendly. Jerry and I never missed a chance to let a kid talk over the P.A. set, sit in the car or on it, talk to them, toss a ball to them. One cold winter I remember us spending what seemed like an hour in a lady’s apartment trying to figure out how to light the furnace. We finally went out into the street and got one of those kids who called us Officer Friendly to show us how to light the thing.

One cold night, Jerry went to Greenbrier Shopping Center to buy some cold weather gear. He was a hard working cop and he wouldn’t spend a watch inside a warm car or coffee shop, he would be out hunting for burglars or other thugs.

A drunk driver sideswiped a car in the Greenbrier parking lot and ran from the scene. Jerry seeing this got into his personal car and chased the drunk down. The drunk pulled over on the emergency lane of I-285. While Jerry was trying to get the man under control, another vehicle coming down the freeway hit Jerry and killed him.

As an Atlanta cop I attended many police officer funerals. All of them hurt, but this one tore my soul.

Because he was killed off duty and just a few feet outside of the City, the City contested paying his family any benefits. I remember at the workers compensation hearing being asked if I would have chased a drunken driver down in my own car. I told the hearing officer that I wouldn’t have, BUT, that J. G. Crawford would. He was that kind of cop. By the way, the Board did order the City to pay benefits to his family.

I retired from Atlanta in 1998 and now work for the Clayton County Police Department as their legal advisor. A cop much like Jerry was killed this week in a traffic accident and his funeral is tomorrow. I started thinking about Jerry this week. I hope we’ll be partners again.

Ken

Kenneth H. Green, Legal Advisor
Clayton County Police Department

October 21, 2005

You are not forgotten. Rest in Peace.

Sgt. James Crawford
Lower Providence Police Montg. Co PA

August 14, 2005

Officer Crawford,
On this, the 27th anniversary of your death, I would like to say thank you for your service to the citizens of Atlanta.
R.I.P.
Anonymous

January 14, 2005