Former Tuscaloosa Police Officer, Hillcrest Grad Killed In Line Of Duty In Huntsville

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Crumby was a graduate of Hillcrest High School, not Tuscaloosa County High.

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Multiple sources, along with the Alabama Attorney General's Office, have confirmed that former Tuscaloosa Police officer Garrett Crumby was killed in the line of duty Tuesday while working in Huntsville.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

Crumby, who sources confirm was a 2004 graduate of Hillcrest High School, was fatally wounded when responding to a domestic violence call on Tuesday, while another Huntsville Police officer was critically wounded.

Crumby served in the Tuscaloosa Police Department from 2013 until he left for the Huntsville Police Department in 2020.

“Tonight, our state grieves the death of another member of the law enforcement community—one who, when called upon, ran toward danger in aide of a female victim,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement. “Huntsville Police Officer Garrett Crumby and fellow Officer Albert Morin were responding to an emergency domestic violence call for service when they were ambushed by an armed suspect ... Our part of the country has been reminded again this week of the pure heroism of those who make up the thin blue line — the dividing line, at times, between life and death for the citizens that they swear an oath to protect. These two law enforcement officers responded to a domestic violence call this evening, knowing full well that they would be placing their lives on the line in defense of their fellow man. We must never take their service and sacrifice for granted.”

According to a report from Carol Robinson of Al.com, Juan Robert Laws, 24, was arrested late Tuesday night and charged with capital murder of a law enforcement officer.

Crumby is the third officer with connections to the Tuscaloosa Police Department to die in the line of duty in the last five years, following active TPD investigator Dornell Cousette in 2019 and former TPD intern and Meridian Police officer Kennis Croom last year.

This is a developing story. Tuscaloosa Patch will have more information as it comes available.