Pensacola Police Department fires officer who shot and killed Tymar Crawford

The Pensacola Police Department has fired the officer who shot and killed Tymar Crawford this summer, setting off a wave of protests and demonstrations calling for reforms within the department.

Pensacola police announced Thursday afternoon that Detective Daniel Siemen was terminated from the police force for violating the department’s use of deadly force policy. Siemen, who has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting, was the only officer to discharge his weapon during the incident July 5, according to police.

The decision to terminate Siemen’s employment was made after the police department completed an internal investigation into the shooting.

"We work hard to develop and maintain trust in our officers by all members of our community, and if an officer violates that trust, we take appropriate action," said PPD Chief Tommi Lyter in a statement. "We want residents to know that this incident is not reflective of the training, policies, procedures, or culture of the Pensacola Police Department. The men and women who work in the department also live in this community and have a passion for providing professional, high-quality police service to the citizens of Pensacola."

The PPD's internal investigation was separate from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s independent investigation into the shooting.

The results of FDLE’s investigation are currently with the State Attorney’s Office, which has said the incident will be reviewed by a grand jury to determine whether a crime took place. State Attorney Bill Eddins told the News Journal in mid-September that he anticipated the grand jury would begin meeting within the next two months.

Why is a grand jury reviewing the case?:State Attorney Bill Eddins explains why a grand jury will review the Tymar Crawford shooting

The evidence compiled by the FDLE investigation cannot be released until after the grand jury finishes its review. Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson called for patience as the case works its way through the legal system.

"We fully support Chief Lyter and his decision to terminate the officer in the case," he told the News Journal. "However, again I ask for patience because these findings are part of a grand jury and we don't have control over releasing that."

Tymar Crawford, 28, was killed outside a residence near C and Brainerd streets July 5.  Police said Crawford fled from an attempted traffic stop at low speed, struggled with police after exiting his vehicle and disarmed an officer during the struggle — prompting another officer to shoot him.

At the scene: Pensacola police spokesman talks about what happened in the July 5 officer-involved shooting

Citizen activists have been critical of the police response and have argued Crawford was initially stopped for what was suspected to be a minor drug offense — marijuana odor emanating from his car — and officers should have been able to resolve the situation without killing Crawford. 

The activists, organized through the Pensacola Dream Defenders, have led marches and rallies in response to the shooting and have called for Siemen, as well as Chief Lyter, to be fired.

Pensacola Dream Defenders President Jamil Davis said Thursday that the firing of Siemen was a step in the right direction but didn't go far enough.

"True just for their family as well as for those in the city of Pensacola that are affected by such actions — which are black and brown people — would be for the police department to be held fully responsible for allowing officer Siemen to have such power to be able to take those actions out, and for the police department to be completely abolished," Davis said.

Attorney Joe Zarzaur, who is representing Crawford's family, told the News Journal on Thursday that he was not surprised by the officer’s termination.

"I think the termination was not unexpected," Zarzaur said. "I do think, though, the city and the police department have been doing a pretty good job of keeping information under wraps. And since we don't have all the information they have, they have the benefit of the dashcam and the body cams that they refuse to provide the family, even though it is a public record."

Rodney Jones, president of the Pensacola branch of the NAACP, said that he and various city administrators, including the mayor and representatives of the PPD, met Thursday afternoon with community leaders before announcing Siemen's termination.

Jones said he left the meeting under the impression that Siemen's termination may not necessarily be permanent, given the procedures and protocols involved in the termination process of a law enforcement officer and the power of police unions. 

"The NAACP will wait, watch and see. At the end of the day, we are looking for justice," Jones said. "They've terminated him, OK, that's good. But is he part of a union? Have they proven the reasons he should be terminated? They have to prove it."

When asked about that, PPD spokesman Mike Wood said, "Anybody who wants to can get a lawyer and fight the termination."

Efforts by the News Journal to reach Siemen were unsuccessful. The News Journal has also reached out to the Pensacola chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union the represents PPD officers, and has not heard back.