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Up To Date

A police sniper shot and killed a 2-year-old girl in Baxter Springs, Kansas. How did that happen?

By Steve Kraske,
Zach Wilson
Published March 25, 2024 at 5:06 PM CDT
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This still image from body cam video shows Joplin SWAT members preparing to enter the camper where Clessie and Eli Crawford died. The toddler’s big wheel is in the yard with the Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter above.
Joplin Police Department
This still image from body cam video shows Joplin SWAT members preparing to enter the camper where Clessie and Eli Crawford died. The toddler’s big wheel is in the yard with the Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter above.

A KCUR and Midwest Newsroom investigation reveals the chain of events that ended in a police sniper shooting and killing 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford in 2022.

Police snipers are trained to only shoot when they are certain that they are aiming at the right target. But in Baxter Springs, Kansas, in March of 2022, a law enforcement sniper shot and killed an innocent child, 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford, during a police standoff.

That story is the focus of a new KCUR and Midwest Newsroom investigation that dissects the series of events that led to Crawford's death.

KCUR's Sam Zeff and lawyer Bernie Rhodes joined Up To Date to discuss the details of the investigation.

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Steve Kraske
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
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Zach Wilson
As Up To Date’s senior producer, I construct daily conversations that give our listeners context to the issues of our time. I strive to provide a platform that holds those in power accountable, while also spotlighting the voices of Kansas City’s creatives and visionaries that may otherwise go unheard. Email me at zach@kcur.org.
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