Missouri City agrees to pay $2 million to woman shot in back by police officer

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The city of Ladue, Missouri has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who was shot in the back by a police officer following a shoplifting incident last year, reports St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

What happened that caused the lawsuit against Missouri

Former Ladue police officer Julia Crews shot 33-year-old Ashley Hall as she was running away from her in a Schnucks parking lot at Ladue Crossing Plaza.

When Crews, 38, arrived on the scene on April 23, 2019, Hall was walking away from and incident and told the officer she had been assaulted.

While waiting for an ambulance to arrive, another officer instructed Hall to sit on the curb. Then Crews tried to handcuff Hall, although she told the woman she was not under arrest, according to the lawsuit documents. Hall ran away out of fear of “the history of unarmed black individuals being shot by white officers,” the documents said.

Crews shouted: “She’s running away!” before shooting Hall in the back without giving a warning.

Police officer resigns

Crews, 38, resigned after the shooting and was charged with second-degree assault. She pleaded not guilty and the case is pending.

Missouri lawsuit agreement

In the settlement agreement released to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the city “denies it is liable in any way” to Ashley N. Hall and does not admit wrongdoing.

The settlement also releases the officer who shot Hall, Julia Crews, police Chief Ken Andreski and others from any liability.