SWAT team

The case hinges on whether Sniper 1’s safety outweighs the public’s interest in knowing the name of the Joplin, Missouri, police officer who killed two-year-old Clessie Crawford in Baxter Springs, Kansas.

The man, known only as Sniper 1, fatally shot two-year-old Clesslynn Crawford during a 2022 standoff. He is still working for the Joplin Police Department.

Two years ago, a Kansas toddler was shot and killed by a Missouri police sniper. Why did the officer take the shot? A KCUR and Midwest Newsroom investigation reveals the chain of events that ended in the death of Clesslynn Crawford.