HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — After a court order directed the Huntsville Police to release bodycam footage from officers involved in the fatal shooting on Crystal Ragland in 2019, the department released video showing the incident.
Officers were called to the scene because residents saw Ragland pointing a gun through her window. In the video you can hear bystanders telling officers that Ragland is a veteran and suffers from PTSD.
On May 30, 2019, the manager of Stadium Apartments in Huntsville made a 911 call about a woman pointing a gun at residents, including himself, through her window. He tells the dispatcher that the woman's name is Crystal Ragland and claims that she's unstable.
Officers who arrived at the scene spoke to the apartment manager, who said that Ragland was a veteran with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. They then went to Ragland's apartment door, where one officer knocked and called out to her. She came out through a patio door where another officer was waiting. She said she did not have any weapons, and put her hands up at first.
Seconds later, she moved a hand to her waistband/pocket and what appeared to officers to be a handgun. Officers opened fire and Ragland fell. On the ground next to her was an item later determined to be a replica of a black .45 caliber handgun.
Ragland was taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Crystal Ragland video released
Click here to see bodycam video. WARNING: This video is graphic and contains images and language that may be upsetting to some viewers. It is unedited except for the blurring of bystanders.
In their statement that accompanied the release of the video, HPD said that an Incident Review Board found that two officers acted within HPD policy, and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office determined the officers’ actions were justified.
A lawsuit filed against Huntsville Police alleging excessive force and wrongful death was dismissed by a federal judge.
The bodycam footage was released after a judge ruled in favor of al.com, who requested the release of the video. Huntsville police said, "Without a court order, the City nor HPD would have released the footage, due to its sensitive and graphic nature. The footage is unedited, but the faces of bystanders have been redacted for their privacy."
After Crystal Ragland's death, her family worked to raise awareness of mental health issues and the treatment of Black women by law enforcement.
From 2019 after shooting incident:
