St. Pete Recalls Officer David Crawford

At 10:37 Tuesday night, police radios went silent. Dozens of uniformed officers stood at attention, members of the public bowed heads and crossed hands while family members fought back the tears.

It was exactly one year ago when police got the call that one of their own, Officer David Crawford, had been shot.

"In some ways this seems an eternity ago," Police Chief Chuck Harmon said of the anniversary of Crawford's shooting in St. Petersburg. "In some aspects it seems like it was just yesterday. (It was) a painful process that continues today.

"This case is one of those that I don’t think we’ve reached that closure yet," Harmon said.

Crawford, 46, was shot multiple times and mortally wounded while trying to question a suspect after receiving a call about a suspected burglar.

He left behind his wife, Donna, and his 25-year-old daughter, Amanda.

On Tuesday night Amanda wore her dad's badge around her neck as she wiped away the tears for a father lost.

Mayor Bill Foster described that horrific night last year as "going through hell," during a press conference the night of Crawford's shooting.

"A year ago, about this same time when I heard those words on the other side of the phone, 'Mayor it’s happened again,' " Foster said.

Crawford was the third St. Petersburg Police officer shot to death in the line of duty within 30 days in 2011. Just a month earlier, Sgt. Tom Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz were killed trying to apprehend felon Hydra Lacy.

Police said Crawford was shot at the southwest corner of the intersection at 8th Street and 2nd Avenue S. He later died at Bayfront Medical Center. A teenage suspect was apprehended later and will soon go on trial.

After Tuesday night's somber memorial, in the breezeway of the police building at 1300 First Ave., more than a dozen officers quietly gathered at the intersection. They stood in silence near a plaque that reads, "Rest in peace our fallen brother. You have fallen, but God has lifted you up."

Foster concluded his speech with some words for Crawford's family.

"Donna, Amanda, you lost a husband, you lost a father. We lost a very wonderful officer," Foster said. "But from that moment you became eternally a part of the family of the St. Petersburg Police Department. We will always be here for you. God bless you both."

"(Crawford) was one that I’ll always remember," Harmon said. "Somebody special in my heart. The times that we did share together will always be a lasting impression."

Last year, a day after the shooting, homicide detectives arrested a 16-year-old Nicholas Lindsey for the murder of Crawford. Lindsey, accompanied by his parents, came in to the police station in the days after the shooting. Police say they have a videotaped confession from him.