BPD clears officer who killed gunman of any wrongdoing

Bloomington Police Department Chief Michael Diekhoff cleared the officer involved in the Aug. 1 shooting of Richard W. North, who allegedly took his wife hostage on South Rogers Street, of any wrongdoing.

This is the second of two investigations to exonerate Sgt. Joe Crider of any improper action in North’s shooting. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office determined Crider’s action was justified Aug. 2 after reviewing around 40 pages of eyewitness and officer accounts.

BPD followed department regulations in placing Crider on a minimum 72-hour administrative leave. Crider had to undergo psychological evaluation and receive counseling while on leave, and was able to return to work after BPD completed the investigation. Crider has been returned to full-duty.

BPD responded to a 911 call at 1:25 p.m. Aug. 1 to the Cook Pharmica parking lot at 1300 S. Patterson Drive, where the caller reported a man allegedly possessing a gun and shooting at his vehicle.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers reported seeing North holding his wife, Teresa, in a headlock and pointing a gun at her head while walking down Rogers Street. North allegedly fired a shot toward responding BPD officers.

BPD Lt. Bill Parker said protocol called for BPD and BPD’s Critical Incident Response Team to attempt to negotiate with North because he was not an active shooter and had not shot at civilians. North made his way toward John’s Food Mart at the corner of Rogers and Rockport, and police attempted to negotiate with him.

However, the negotiators could not convince North to drop his gun or release Teresa. CIRT member Crider then shot North, fatally wounding him.

— Colleen Sikorski