NEVADA CITY, Calif. — As part of a tentative ruling on Friday, a Nevada County, California, deputy who in 2021 fatally shot a knife-wielding woman in front of her children was removed from a civil lawsuit over the incident.
The other officer involved in the incident — along with the county itself — were not so lucky. A judge denied those parties' motions for summary judgment, meaning they could still face civil liability over the shooting.
Attorneys in the case appeared Friday before Nevada County Superior Court Judge Robert Tice-Raskin.
In his tentative ruling, Tice-Raskin granted summary judgment to Deputy Caleb Toderean over the Feb. 4, 2021, fatal shooting of Sage Crawford aka Deirdre Eloise Hawkins. He did so after determining that a reasonable juror couldn’t find Toderean negligent, as a video of the incident shows him acting reasonably from when the deputies first contacted Crawford to the time of the shooting.
“Plaintiffs have not demonstrated the existence of any triable, material issues of fact as to these claims,” the judge wrote.
The judge also ruled that both deputies and the county are immune from punitive damages over the killing. At the same time, he declined to remove Deputy Matthew Harrison and Nevada Country from the case after determining their were genuine factual disputes about the shooting.
A call reporting suspicious circumstances in 2021 led both deputies to respond to a neighborhood south of Grass Valley, where they spotted Crawford with the two children. Video footage showed the deputies approach Crawford, who was walking in the middle of the street.
Crawford held a knife as she yelled and screamed at the deputies. She ran toward one of the deputies with the knife as Harrison unsuccessfully used a stun gun on her.
Moments later, Toderean shot her. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. In May 2022, her children filed suit against the deputies and Nevada County, seeking damages for wrongful death and emotional distress.
In Friday's arguments, attorneys on both sides focused on the deputies' movements and actions prior to the shooting.
“Ms. Crawford, armed with a knife, repeatedly closes the gap,” argued attorney Kayleigh Andersen, who represents the deputies and county. “When she would move forward, they would move back.”
According to Andersen, Harrison at one point moved around his patrol vehicle to keep Toderean in sight and Crawford within range of his stun gun. That movement kept the same distance between them and allowed Harrison to keep Crawford’s two young children out of the crossfire.
Both deputies believed that Crawford had the ability to cause harm, and Harrison shouldn’t be punished for using non-deadly force, Andersen said.
Representing the plaintiffs, attorney Lena Andrews said dashcam video of the incident showed that Crawford kept distance between herself and the deputies while Harrison moved to about five feet from her. That disadvantaged him, as the stun gun is only effective between five to 15 feet.
“He still chose to close that distance and escalate the situation,” Andrews said. “There was no reason to use the Taser at that time.”
Arguing that Toderean should not be dismissed from the suit, Andrews described him as an integral to the deadly incident.
Toderean saw Harrison come around the patrol vehicle and did nothing to intervene, she said. She argued Toderean’s tactics were negligent, as he didn’t seek cover, have a plan or work with his partner to make the scene safe.
“Ms. Crawford had a knife,” Andersen retorted.
There is no standard operating procedure for someone wielding a knife, Andersen continued. And while the deputies used their patrol vehicle as their cover, it only provided a limited amount of cover, she said.
Andersen added that the reason the deputies responded to the area was because of concern about the children’s welfare.
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