St. Louis Circuit Attorney s Office Report Regarding the Review into the Shooting Death of Crayton West June 20, 2016
Introduction: On January 17, 2016, at approximately 6:08 p.m., Crayton West (West) was shot and killed by an onduty St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) officer at a fast food restaurant in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. The Force Investigative Unit (FIU) of the SLMPD and the Officer- Involved Shooting Unit (OIS) of the Circuit Attorney s Office CAO responded to the scene and immediately began reviewing the case for criminal conduct. Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce relied on the head of her OIS and a team of experienced prosecutors, investigators and staff to work on the simultaneous investigation. The CAO s OIS team personally met with members of West s family on Wednesday, January. Prosecutors requested anyone with information regarding the shooting to come forward. The team reviewed police reports, laboratory reports, ballistics reports, DNA analysis, gunshot residue analysis, photographs, surveillance video, and 911 calls, among other items. They conducted multiple interviews and made numerous attempts to gain further statements and information necessary to complete their investigation. In the interest of clarity, openness and transparency, the CAO has provided additional information in an appendix so the public can see the basis for the CAO s conclusion. Questions regarding any other source documents or materials relative to the investigation should be directed to the SLMPD who will proceed with their internal investigation. Statement of Facts This statement of facts is based on witness statements, forensic and physical evidence, and video from the restaurant. On January 17, 2016, Crayton West walked into a fast food restaurant in the 3500 block of S. Grand Ave. One of the employees was sweeping the lobby and held the door open for West as he entered. The employee then went behind the counter to take his order. West ordered and paid with cash. As the employee rang up the sale and the cash drawer opened, West pulled a gun from his clothes and pointed it at the employee. West reached over the counter and started grabbing money from the register drawer. The employee ran to the back of the kitchen to tell the on-duty manager what was happening. A customer that was in the drive-thru saw the robbery took place and called 911 then drove across the street to a gas station where he saw police cars. He told the officers, including Officer A, what happened. Officer A left the parking lot of the gas station and drove to the restaurant. He parked near the entrance of the restaurant and then walked to the corner of the building and looked into windows to assess the situation. West attempted to walk out of the restaurant twice. The first time, it appears as though he saw the police car and then turned to go back in after passing the first set of doors. Two customers and the manager of the restaurant saw West trying to conceal a gun in the waistband of his pants when he turned back around. 2 P a g e
The second time, he exited the first set of doors and tried to walk past Officer A. The officer told West to either stop or go back into the restaurant. Witnesses say that West told the officer that the robber was still in the restaurant. Employees then told Officer A that West was the person who had just robbed the restaurant. Officer A told West to put his hands up. West started to raise his hands but then reached for the gun in his waistband. Officer A yelled at West, don t do it, don t do it. West pulled the gun out of his waistband and Officer A fired a shot. Officer A saw the gun was still pointed at him and fired another shot. West was hit and fell to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident was captured on restaurant surveillance video. The SLMPD and CAO investigations then began. Conclusion: After conducting interviews of more than a dozen witnesses and reviewing physical and forensic evidence, the Circuit Attorney s Office considered Missouri state law regarding self-defense and defense of others. The Circuit Attorney s comprehensive review and investigation of the shooting of Crayton West was limited to the decision as to whether the police officer who shot him is criminally liable and should be charged with a crime. The laws of the State of Missouri as applied to the facts in this incident do not rise to the level of a crime. West escalated the situation so quickly that the officer did not have time for an alternative method of force or opportunity for de-escalation. Therefore, charges will not be filed in this case. 3 P a g e
Appendix: I. WITNESS STATEMENTS CAO staff members and prosecutors attempted to personally interview all known witnesses and locate additional witnesses. A number of witnesses declined to speak with the CAO. Prosecutors also made several attempts to interview additional witnesses. CAO staff personally interviewed about a dozen people. These interviews included police officers and witnesses who claimed to have specific knowledge of the events. Unless otherwise noted, information below is summarized from witness interviews with the CAO. 1. OFFICER A Officer A is a 42-year-old white male. He graduated from the SLMPD Academy in 2003 and worked as a sergeant in the second district at the time of the shooting. Officer A s Account On January 20, 2016, Officer A provided his recorded statement of the incident to Sgt. Roger Engelhardt with the FIU of the SLMPD. During the review, CAO staff made a request to interview Officer A. Through his attorney, Officer A declined the request. CAO staff subsequently relied solely on Officer A s statement made to F)U investigators. Because Officer A is the subject of the investigation, his testimony cannot be compelled by the courts. The following is a summary of Officer A s interview with police: Officer A was working the 2:50 p.m. to 10:50 p.m. shift on the day of the incident. He had worked those hours the day before and slept in between shifts. He said he was feeling normal on the day of the incident. He was assigned to monitor a protest in the area of Grand and Gravois. He parked in the lot of a gas station across from the restaurant and started talking to Witness 1 who pulled in next to him. A man pulled up in front of Officer A and said the restaurant was getting robbed. He parked his car at an angle on the north side of the restaurant Officer A said he then walked around to the front of the restaurant to look in the windows. He saw a tall black male wearing a jacket and a hoodie walk out the first set of doors and then turn around and walk back into the restaurant. (e said he found the man s movements suspicious because he was told there was a robbery occurring in the restaurant. Officer A said, in his police experience, victims or witnesses will usually approach an officer or a police vehicle right away after the crime has occurred. Officer A believed the man saw his marked police car outside the doors and turned back into the restaurant. Officer A could see customers and employees in the lobby of the restaurant in addition to the man. He said everyone in the lobby was being still and staring at the ground. He believed the actions of those in the lobby were inconsistent with the way victims or witnesses behave after a robbery if the robber is gone. He said he also noticed that the customers and employees appeared to be keeping track of the tall black man in the coat and hoodie. 4 P a g e
Officer A then walked back to the doors of the restaurant and saw the man walking straight towards him. He remembers that he said something to the man but does not recall what he said. The man did not respond, instead turning around and walking back into the restaurant. Based on his observations and what he was told, Officer A was confident that this man was the suspect. He started yelling for the man to show him his hands. Officer A pulled his gun. The man began to turn back around towards Officer A. He then saw that the man was pulling a gun from his waistband. Officer A said he started yelling don t do it, don t do it! Officer A saw the barrel of the gun coming up from the man s waistband and he fired a round at the man. He looked at the man and then looked down at the gun. He said he saw the barrel pointing at him so he fired another round. The man then fell to the ground. When he fell, he rolled over and Officer A saw there was not a gun in his hand anymore. Officer A radioed that he had been in a shooting and requested EMS. He then asked everyone else in the restaurant if they were okay. He saw kids crawl out from under a table and noticed more people behind the counter than had been there previously. As he was looking around, he noticed the gun was on the ground near the trashcans right across from the doors. A man peeked out of the bathroom and told Officer A that he worked there and then came out of the bathroom. Witness 1 came in at this point. Officer A noticed some shell casings in the vestibule. He then went out to sit in his vehicle because he saw that other officers were arriving. Witness 1 Witness 1 was the lieutenant supervising the second district at the time of the shooting. He/she arrived at a gas station on S. Grand in response to protests in the area. Officer A was at the gas station monitoring the protests at the time. Witness 1 pulled his/her car next to Officer A s and they began talking as protestors moved on to another district. As they were parked in the lot, Witness 1 said another car pulled up and told them that the fast food restaurant had just been robbed. Witness 1 said Officer A drove across to the fast food restaurant. Witness 1 began to drive across the street but was slowed by traffic. Witness 1 says Officer A was going inside as he/she arrived. Witness 1 parked behind Officer A s car and approached the building when he/she heard a shot. He/she pulled her gun and stood close to the wall while informing dispatch that shots had been fired. Witness 1 says, within a couple of seconds, he/she heard another shot. When he/she got to the door, he/she saw Officer A standing just in front of the second set of doors. He/she saw a man lying on the ground, lowering his hands to his waist. He/she ordered the man to put his hands back up which he did. The man then dropped his hands again and Witness 1 told him multiple times to put his hands up. Officer A told Witness 1 that the gun was on the ground. At this point, Witness 1 believed the man was no longer a threat and checked with other people in the restaurant to make sure no one was hurt. Witness 1 said he/she was unable to hear anything that happened in the restaurant prior to shots being fired. 5 P a g e
Witness 2 Witness 2 was sweeping the floor when West walked into the restaurant and he/she held the door open for him. He/she went around the counter to the cash register and took the man s order. Witness 2 said the man handed him/her money and then reached into the drawer. Witness 2 said he/she didn t know what the man was doing so he/she swatted his hand away which is when he/she saw the gun. Witness 2 said he pointed a black gun at him/her. He/She went to tell the manager what was happening. He/She ran toward the freezer and hid inside with another employee. They called 911. Within five minutes, Witness 2 said he/she heard two gunshots. When he/she came out, he/she saw the man lying on the ground. Witness 3 Witness 3 was the manager on duty at the time of the shooting. Around 6 p.m., one of the employees came to him/her and said that someone has a gun and is in the employee s register. Witness 3 went to see what was happening and saw a man with a big gun in one hand, waving it around, and the man s other hand in the cash register. Witness 3 said he/she told everyone to get back and hit a panic button on a cooler that contacts police. He/she said some of the employees went into the freezer and some went to the back of the store. Witness 3 heard the door open to the area behind the counter and saw the man on the floor, picking up the money he had dropped from the register. Witness 3 heard the door to the area behind the counter open again and, when he/she looked out, no longer saw the man on the floor. Witness 3 went back out to the counter and said he/she saw the man begin to leave the restaurant and then turn around and come back inside. Witness couldn t see the gun at this point. He/she said the officer entered the restaurant and the man began pointing towards him/her and another customer, as if they were the robbers. Witness 3 quickly told the police that the man (West) was the robber and had a gun. The police officer told the man to show his hands. Witness 3 said he/she didn t see the officer s gun at the time. Witness 3 said the man started to raise his hands but then went to reach for the gun at his waist, reaching with one hand and trying to hold his pants. Witness 3 described the man as kind of jumping to get the gun out and that he/she thought the gun might have been too big and that he was struggling to get it out. The man was facing the police officer at the time, and they were a few feet away from each other. Witness said the officer was saying things like, don t do that, during the interaction. The officer then pulled his gun and shot the man a couple of times. The officer was saying things like, Why did he do that? and (ow come he didn t do what ) said? after the shooting, according to Witness 3. 6 P a g e
Witness 4 Witness 4 was having dinner at the restaurant with Witness 5 and their three kids. He/she was sitting in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant opposite from the doors. Witness 4 was facing the doors. Witness 5 told Witness 4 that the man had a gun. Prior to that, Witness 4 said he/she was unaware that a robbery was happening. Witness 4 said the robber was on his way out the door as the police pulled up into the lot. He/she said the robber then put the gun in his waistband so it was concealed. The robber then tried to tell the police that the person who was robbing the store was still in the back, according to Witness 4. The officer made the robber come back inside the robber backed up into the restaurant while the officer walked towards him. Witness 4 said the robber then started reaching for the gun. He/she thinks the police officer grabbed the robber s wrist. (e/she saw the robber and police officer tussling and heard the police officer say something like, drop the gun. The robber didn t drop the gun so Witness saw the officer shove him off and shoot him. After he was shot, West spun around and the gun flew out of his hand. Witness 4 at first thought West had shot once but then learned the officer had shot twice. Witness 5 Witness 5 was having dinner at the restaurant with Witness 4 and their three kids. He/she was sitting in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant opposite from the doors. Witness 5 was facing the doors. Witness 5 told Witness 4 that the man had a gun. (e/she said he/she didn t know that a robbery was going on at first but did notice all the workers behind the counter were gone and had been gone for a while. He/she then saw the man walk out from behind the counter with a gun. The man then tried to put the gun in his waistband. The man was facing Witness 5 and Witness 4 as he did this. Once the gun was concealed, the man turned as if he was going to walk out of the restaurant. A police officer walked in as this was happening and told the man to come back into the restaurant. Witness 5 said the man then started to pull the gun out of his waistband and he/she heard the officer says something like, don t do it. (e/she wasn t sure if the robber got the gun all the way out or not. (e/she heard two shots and then the man was on the ground. Witness 6 Witness 6 was in the restaurant drive thru at the time of the incident. As he/she pulled up to the drive-thru window, and he/she saw the car in front of him/her speed away without getting their food. Witness 6 said he/she pulled up to the window and saw a man with a gun with his hand in the register and money all over the counter. At this point, Witness 6 was about 20 feet away from the man with the gun he/she described as dark-colored with a long barrel. Witness 6 believed it was an older revolver based on the length of the barrel. 7 P a g e
Witness 6 realized the man might see him/her through the window so, as the man made his way behind the counter, Witness 6 pulled away. As Witness 6 reached for his phone to call 911, he/she saw a marked police car pull into the lot and park by the entrance doors. Witness 6 was afraid the man with the gun would come out of the restaurant on the side Witness 6 was on since the police were blocking the other entrance so Witness 6 drove out on to Grand. As he/she did so, Witness 6 said he/she heard a gunshot. Witness 6 pulled into the next parking lot and returned to talk to police. Witness 7 Witness 7 was waiting at the drive-thru window for his/her food at the time of the incident. Witness 7 said he/she saw the man at the counter hand the cashier money and then push the cashier out of the way. The man then pulled out a gun that Witness 7 described as an old revolver. The witness drove away before getting his/her food and called 911. As he/she was on the phone with 911, he/she saw a police vehicle across the street on the lot of a gas station. Witness 7 drove across the street and told the officers, who he/she said were in uniform and easily recognizable as police, that someone had a gun in the restaurant. The officer drove away to the restaurant and Witness 7 stayed in the gas station parking lot. He/she could still see through the windows of the restaurant. Witness 7 said West was going out as officers were going in. He/she believes he/she saw the man point the gun at the officer and get into what the witness described as a stance. Witness 7 did not hear any gunshots. Witness 8 Witness 8 was working at the restaurant at the time of the shooting. (e/she was getting food for an order near the front counter but didn t realize what was happening. He/she heard the cash register open and looked over, seeing the man at the counter reaching over the counter grabbing money. (e/she believes that the gun in the man s hand was in his right hand, pointed sideways at the person ringing him up. Witness 8 said he/she then ran to the back office with the store manager, who then went to the front. A short time later, he/she heard two shots. (e/she couldn t hear anyone talking before the shots as, in his/her experience, it s difficult to hear anything happening in the restaurant from the back office. Witness 9 Witness 9 was working at the restaurant at the time of the shooting. He/she was near the back of the restaurant preparing an order for a drive thru customer. The restaurant manager was working with him/her. Witness ran up to the manager and said, he has a gun. Witness 9 said Witness was very afraid and near tears. Witness 9 said this was the first time he/she was aware of the robbery. 8 P a g e
Witness 9 couldn t see the counter area and didn t look to see what was happening at the time, instead going into the walk-in freezer with Witness 2. Witness 9 tried to call 911. As he/she was waiting for someone to answer, he/she heard two gunshots. The store manager came back to the freezer and told them that the police had shot the man with the gun. Witness 9 said he/she hung up the phone without connecting to 911. (e/she said he/she couldn t hear anything that was happening outside the freezer. Witness 10 Witness 10 was working at the restaurant at the time of the shooting. He/she was in the restroom near the entrance of the restaurant at the time of the incident. Witness 10 says he/she was in the restroom about five minutes and then answered a phone call while in the restroom. He/she was on the phone for about 30 seconds when he/she heard the store manager say something like, he just robbed us. Witness 10 then heard someone say stop or don t do that followed by two shots that he/she believes were back to back. Witness then heard someone say, why did you do that? Witness 10 stayed in the bathroom for a short time before opening the door at which point he/she saw the man on the ground and uniformed police. Witness 11 Witness 11 was eating in the restaurant at the time of the shooting. Witness 11 said he/she was eating when he/she noticed that the restaurant door was open, making him/her cold. He/she was about to get up to close it when he/she saw someone coming from the hallway where the restrooms are with a gun. He/she described the gun as a tarnished revolver with an approximately six inch long barrel. He/she mouthed to another customer in the restaurant that the man had a gun. He/she said the man then started to exit the restaurant as a policeman in a blue uniform entered the restaurant. (e/she heard the officer saying things like, drop the weapon, drop the gun. Witness 11 said he/she thought something bad was going to happen so he/she got on the floor, at which point he/she heard two shots. He/she described the shots as being back to back with no pause in between. He/she was not aware a robbery was taking place before he/she saw West with the gun. Witness 12 Witness 12 was working at the restaurant at the time of the shooting. He/she was working in the back of the restaurant when several coworkers came running toward the back. (e/she didn t know what was happening and none of his/her coworkers were saying anything. He/she then heard two gunshots with a two or three second pause between the shots. He/she couldn t hear anything that was said in the front of the store before or after the shots. 9 P a g e
Witness 13 Witness 13 was getting food at the restaurant at the time of the shooting. The CAO attempted to contact the witness for an interview but attempts to locate him/her were unsuccessful. The following is a summary of Witness 13 s interview with police: Witness 13 said he/she ordered food at the register and then stepped to the side. He/she then heard the man behind him order and saw the cashier ring the man up. He/she said that the cashier then ran to the back and he/she saw what he thought was the barrel of a gun in the man s hand. He/she said the man was reaching over the counter, grabbing money from the register. He/she and the other person near the counter got down. Witness 13 said the man went behind the counter and then started walking out. He/she thought the man was trying to put away the gun and the money as he was leaving. As the man was walking out, the uniformed officer came in and told the man to stop and come back inside. Witness saw the man say something like, no they re over there to the officer, gesturing to the back of the store. The officer then asked an employee if the man was the one who robbed them and the employee said yes. Witness 13 said there was a tussle or struggle as the man was trying to pull the gun. He/she is sure that the man was trying to pull the gun because the man was fiddling with the front of his pants. Witness 13 remembers being down on the ground and hearing a shot and then another shot. (e/she thought it was either the officer s life or the man s life because the man was trying to pull the gun. (e/she felt the officer didn t want to shoot because he gave the man every opportunity before shooting. Witness 14 The night of the shooting, Witness 14 and a man were hanging out in the parking lot of the gas station across the street from the restaurant. The CAO attempted to contact the witness for an interview but attempts to locate him/her were unsuccessful. The following is a summary of Witness 14 s interview with police: Witness 14 said that the man was flashing a chrome gun with a black grip and talking about how he was going to rob someone, eventually saying he was going to rob the restaurant. Witness 14 saw the man go across the street to the restaurant. Witness 14 remained at a bus stop on the other side of the street but could see inside the restaurant through the windows. Witness 14 said he/she could tell that the man was robbing the restaurant. He/she couldn t hear anything that was happening inside the restaurant. Witness 14 said the man was pointing the gun with his arm outstretched while in the restaurant II. AUTOPSY REPORT According to the city of St. Louis Medical Examiner s report, there were two entrance wounds on West s body. One was a gunshot entrance wound to the right chest that took a downward, backward and rightward path. The other was a gunshot entrance wound to the left back that took a forward and leftward path. Bullets were retrieved from both wounds. Toxicological tests were performed. West tested positive for cocaine/metabolites and opiates. 10 P a g e
III. FIREARM EXAMINATIONS A.38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver was found at the scene. It was loaded with six cartridges and was determined to be in working order. Officer X s firearm had cartridges in the magazine following the shooting. The gun has a capacity for 15 cartridges in the magazine, plus one in the chamber. )t couldn t be determined if the cartridge casings found on the scene were fired from the officer s firearm but the casings are consistent with SLMPD-approved ammunition. IV. SURVEILLANCE VIDEO The restaurant had nine surveillance cameras functioning at the time of the incident. One of those cameras shows the counter of the restaurant. Another camera shows most of the eating area of the restaurant and the doors to the restaurant. The other cameras did not capture views of the restaurant relevant to this investigation. The time stamp on the video footage is approximately one hour and 15 minutes ahead of real time. One camera view shows West ordering at the counter, pulling a gun and committing the robbery. Another camera shows West walking out of the store, turning back, attempting to exit again, and Officer A entering and the shooting. The CAO has released surveillance video from the restaurant of the shooting. You can find the surveillance video at youtube.com/circuitattorney. V. FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS Fingerprints were taken from the counter of the restaurant and money found in the restaurant. Those fingerprints were found to match Crayton West. VI. DISCUSSION ISSUE Prosecutors have reviewed all available witness statements, physical evidence and forensic evidence related to the shooting death of Crayton West. The role of the CAO is to review the evidence and determine if a violation of Missouri law occurred. To pursue criminal prosecution, prosecutors must have the evidence to prove a crime occurred beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, in this case, prosecutors considered the following issue: Did Officer A commit a crime under Missouri law, and if so, can the crime be proven beyond a reasonable doubt? APPLICABLE MISSOURI LAW To answer this question, prosecutors reviewed all applicable Missouri criminal statutes, including those for homicide. Two specific Missouri laws emerged as critically relevant to the case: the authority to use force in self-defense and the authority to use force in defense of persons. These laws are outlined, in summary, below. Use of force in defense of persons (563.031 covers both self-defense and defense of others) Physical Force: According to Missouri law, a person may use physical force upon another person when he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself. 11 P a g e
Deadly Force: The law allows a person to use deadly force when he or she reasonably believes that such deadly force is necessary to protect himself or another person from death, serious physical injury or any forcible felony. To use physical and/or deadly force, the law states that the person claiming self-defense cannot be the initial aggressor in the incident, unless that person is a law enforcement officer. )t does not matter who first produces a weapon; a police officer, under the law, is entitled to self-defense even if he or she is the initial aggressor. ANALYSIS Prosecutors applied Missouri law to the facts and evidence available in this case, including witness interviews, physical evidence and forensic evidence. The following is a summary of their analysis and application of the laws considering the available evidence. Use of force in defense of persons Officer A was acting in his full capacity as a law enforcement officer and, on the date in question, was responding to a citizen s report of a restaurant robbery. The officer also retained rights afforded to a regular citizen at this time. In surveillance video from the restaurant, West can be seen removing a gun from his jacket, pointing it at the cashier and taking money from the cash register. As Officer A enters the restaurant and confronts West, West can be seen pointing a gun in the direction of the officer, after the officer directed West to put his hands up. Multiple witnesses reported seeing West with the gun, an object that could cause injury or death. Some restaurant employees hid in a freezer during the robbery. It is reasonable to believe that they hid in fear of West. To charge this officer with homicide, the CAO staff needed available evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not reasonably fear for his or others lives. Under the circumstances, the State cannot prove that it was unreasonable for the officer to fear for his own or the safety of others in the restaurant as he knew West had just committed the crime of robbery and had pulled a gun within a few feet of the officer. Though acting as a law enforcement officer at the time, had Officer A been acting in any other capacity, or as a private citizen, the same analysis would apply. 12 P a g e
VII. PHOTOS FROM CRIME SCENE, LABORATORY REPORTS, SURVEILLANCE WEST S GUN IN LOCATION IT LANDED. WEST S GUN ON FLOOR OF RESTAURANT. 13 P a g e
SHELL CASING FOUND IN VESTIBULE OF RESTAURANT. CASH ON THE GROUND OF THE RESTAURANT IN HALLWAY. 14 P a g e
CASH ON COUNTER. OPEN CASH REGISTER. 15 P a g e
ENTRANCE TO RESTAURANT, LOCATION OF SHOOTING. FINGERPRINTS TAKEN FROM COUNTER. 16 P a g e