Woman with knife was fatally shot by Nevada County deputy in front of her kids, DA says
Prosecutors have released details and the name of a woman who was fatally shot during an encounter with Nevada County sheriff’s deputies in front of her two small children during an encounter in Alta Sierra.
Ariella Sage Eloise Crawford, 33, was shot and killed by a deputy Thursday, the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office announced in an update Friday afternoon. Prosecutors said Crawford’s birth name was Deidre Eloise Hawkins, and her family was notified of her death.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a person, who appeared intoxicated, walking with two small children near Names and Alta Sierra drives, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
The District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the children with Crawford at the time the shooting were her children. No other injuries were reported in the shooting.
The fatal shooting occurred in the small mountain town off of Highway 49 just south of Grass Valley. The District Attorney’s Office said the woman was armed with a knife, and one deputy fired his gun at the woman during the encounter. Prosecutors said on Friday that more details will be released as the investigation into the shooting proceeds.
It remains unclear what specifically led to shooting and if both deputies fired upon her.
In a video posted Friday afternoon, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Deputy Caleb Toderean and Deputy Matthew Harrison, who were involved in the fatal shooting, have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with Sheriff’s Office policy. Toderean has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for four-and-a-half years and Harrison has been with the office for four years.
“This was a rapidly evolving incident that unfortunately led to the loss of a young lady’s life,” Moon said in the video. “Each and every day our staff are called on to respond to situations that can have unpredictable outcomes. We take that responsibility very seriously. And when tragic events occur, they impact everyone including our staff and their families.”
Moon said she asked the District Attorney’s Office to conduct the investigation immediately after the fatal shooting “to ensure the investigation remains independent from the Sheriff’s Office.” She said the Sheriff’s Office would conduct a complete review of the deputy’s actions based policies and procedures.
The Sheriff’s Office in the coming weeks would release video and or audio recordings that can help to describe what happened during the shooting, she said.
“While it will not change the outcome, it will provide the transparency that your Sheriff’s Office is committed to,” Moon said in the video.
