'I Will Have a Hole in My Heart Forever': Officer Dave Crawford's Long-Time Partner

ST. PETERSBURG - "I stand before you today a broken man," said Stu Crisco, David Crawford's partner for 13 years with the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Officer Tad "Stu" Crisco offered a moving testament Tuesday to the dedication, integrity and compassion that Crawford brought to his job every day as a patrol officer on the overnight shift.

Crisco described him as guy with "barnacles" who was a softie inside -- someone you might expect to own pit bulls but instead valued his seven cats.

From their coffee breaks together to their camraderie on the job, Crisco offered some insight into the tight relationship that the 46-year-old officer had with his squadron, known as The Black Sheep.

"The black sheep lost one of the flock, and  he cannot be replaced," Crisco said.

Crisco recalled the day he joined Crawford's squad in 1999. "Dave was the senior member," Crisco said. "He said 'Welcome to the squad of misfit and throwaways. I believe you will fit right in.' ''

As younger officers began the graveyard shift and then moved on, Crisco and Crawford stayed on."Dave and I," he said. "Always on the same squad." They never considered leaving.

Crisco said that recently Mayor Bill Foster implored the St. Pete police officers to turn to their friends in this, their hour of need.

"The Mayor said, 'We all need to have someone to lean on when we go home, that  4:30 a.m. friend... We should all seek out that 4:30 a.m. friend,' '' Crisco recalled.

"I'd like to do that, but my 4:30 a.m. friend is Dave, and he is gone. I will have a hole in my heart forver, for the loss of my brother Dave."

11:00 a.m.

Like a cue from the heavens, the sun burst through the cloud cover this morning, just as the flag-draped casket bearing Officer David Crawford arrived in the church.

A motorcyle escort of police officers accompanied the hearse to the doors of St. Petersburg Baptist Church for the funeral of the 46-year-old police officer. In addition to clergy, friends and colleagues of Crawford, a veteran cop who worked the overnight shift, are scheduled to speak, followed by Chief Chuck Harmon and Mayor Bill Foster.

9:00 a.m.

The skies have opened up to a downpour as uniformed police and dignitaries join the family to pay final respects to fallen police Officer David Crawford.

A slide show of Crawford, with his friends, family and colleagues, is playing on a giant screen set up in the parking lot to handle the overflow crowd of mourners at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg. The photos include the officer as boy growing up in St. Petersburg.

The gray skies and showers are not keeping people away. Officers on horses arrive, not seeming to notice the wet weather. The riderless horse marches slowly across the blacktop lot as mourners watch. Bagpipes wail in the distance, a constant reminder of the somber occasion.

The city released a long list of political leaders and other dignitaries attending the funeral. They are too numerous to name all but include: Congressman C.W. Bill Young;  Congresswoman Kathy Castor; Gov. Rick Scott and First Lady Ann Scott;
Attorney General Pam Bondi; Florida State Sen. Jack Latvala; Florida State Reps. Jeff Brandes, Larry Ahern, Darryl Rouson and Jim Frishe.

City officials include:

• Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, City Manager Bill Horne, Police Chief Anthony Holloway, Police Deputy Chief Sandra Wilson;
• Gulfport Mayor Mike Yakes, City Manager Jim O'Reilly;
• Largo Mayor Pat Gerard, City Manager Norton Craig, Police Chief John Carroll;
• City of St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and Wendy Foster; City Administrator Tish  Elston; City Council Members Jim Kennedy, Karl Nurse, Leslie Curran, Steve Kornell, Jeff Danner, Bill Dudley, Wengay Newton, Herb Polson, Police Chief Chuck Harmon, Lori and Brian Harmon, City Attorney John Wolfe, Fire & Rescue Chief Jim Large, Chiefs Robert Bassett, Steve Knight, Jim Wimberly, Kathy Ziegler;
• City of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio

8:00 a.m.: A light rain is falling this morning, as the city prepares to lay to rest another police officer: David Crawford.  Bagpipes keen in the distance as mourners start gathering, at 8 a.m., at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg on Gandy Boulevard.

Hundreds of people -- most of them uniformed officers -- already are arriving, though the funeral service does not start until 11 a.m.

Gandy Bouelvard is closed to traffic next to the mega-church, which seats more than 2,000 people. It is eerily quiet for a weekday morning, the major artery empty, save for formal lines of police vehicles that are starting to arrive. Most people are taking shuttles from mall parking lots nearby.

As people gather to celebrate the life of Officer Crawford, a St. Petersburg native, many wonder if St. Petersburg will ever recover fully from the month of shootings and losses. Crawford was fatally shot a week ago Monday, when he responded to a call about a suspected burglar in downtown St. Petersburg. A 16-year-old has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death.

The scene is similar to the joint funeral held less than a month ago at the same church for Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and K9 Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, both shot in the line of duty on Jan. 24. The three shootings are the first time since 1980 that an officer has been killed in the line of duty.

"We barely had time to catch our breath," one officer told reporters last week about the Feb. 21 shooting death of Crawford.