A Missouri city has announced on Oct. 2 has agreed to pay $2 million to a Black woman by a white officer following a shoplifting incident that took place last year in a St. Louis suburb. Now former Ladue police officer Julia Crews shot 33-year-old Ashley Hall as she was running away from her in a Schnucks parking lot.
Crews, 38, arrived at the scene on April 23, 2019, and when Hall told her she had been assaulted. While waiting on an ambulance to arrive another officer told Hall to sit on the curb. Then Crews attempted to handcuff Hall, although she told the woman she wasn’t under arrest. Hall ran away out of fear of “the history of unarmed black individuals being shot by white officers,” according to court documents STL Today obtained.
“She’s running away!” Crews yelled before shooting Hall in the back without giving any warning.
“Did you shoot me?” Hall said after being shot, and Crews replied, “Yes, and I’m sorry.”
Crews’ attorney said she intended to grab her taser and accidentally grabbed her gun. The mother of five was transported to the hospital in critical condition. She would suffer injuries to her liver, spleen, diaphragm, lungs, ribs, and kidney. According to the lawsuit, she went into cardiac arrest for two minutes.
The incident reportedly started after Hall and another woman removed food from the store without paying. Police says Hall hit a store worker in the face with a bag of stolen items. Hall sued Crews, the city of Ladue, and Police Chief Ken Andreski last December on claims of excessive force. In the $2 million settlement agreement, the city has denied all wrongdoing and liability. The terms of the agreement doesn’t allow anyone involved in the case to discuss the lawsuit.
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