A Maryland police chief retired after decades in the force only to spend much of the next 10 years unleashing a series of arson attacks against his alleged enemies, according to a string of accusations revealed on Wednesday.
David Crawford, 69, a former police chief in Laurel, Maryland, is charged with attempted murder and a dozen arson attacks from 2011 to 2020. He resigned from the police department in 2010. He is charged with 20 crimes in the county alone. Prince George, according to The Baltimore Sun– four counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of attempted second-degree murder, one counts of first-degree arson, five counts of second-degree arson and six counts of arson. But that is not the only jurisdiction where Crawford faces prosecution. He was also charged in Montgomery, Frederick and Charles counties. He faces 32 criminal charges in these three counties.
The arson fires in question followed a pattern, the police said: a hooded figure approached the target, poured gasoline into jars and lit the flame with a stick wrapped in a cloth.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Prince George County Fire Department said: “In the course of the investigation, it was determined that the structures and vehicles that Crawford intentionally set fire to were linked to the victims with whom he had previously disagreements.”
Crawford reportedly went after public officials, the chief of police who replaced him, a woman who had taught a training program to his wife that mentioned “white privilege”, two doctors who previously treated him for a back injury, a neighbor in Ellicott City, Maryland, and their own relatives, including a stepson, whose home he allegedly attacked three times. Crawford’s search history includes the addresses of several of his possible victims, police said.
“All the fires were at night. In six of the arson fires, the victim and his families were sleeping inside their homes, ”continued the statement from the fire department. Investigators said Crawford hid his identity from surveillance cameras with hooded sweatshirts. He allegedly set cars, garages and houses on fire.
Oddly, a LinkedIn account that appears to belong to Crawford paints a decidedly happier image of the alleged retired police chief who became an arsonist. In the biography, Crawford describes himself as a “lover of people” and lists one of his personal slogans as: “Find the positive”.
He also recalls important advice from a mentor: “95% of your law enforcement challenges will disappear if you remember to speak to people the way you would like them to speak and treat them as you would like to be treated.”