Police officer, Army Veteran, killed in the line of duty

9-year veteran of suburban force 'meant a lot to so many people'
Police officer's death deeply affects peers on his force and around metro area.

By MIKE KASZUBA, Star Tribune

Last update: September 7, 2009 - 10:30 PM


He was a grandfather, a U.S. Army veteran and had a wife who had once worked as a reserve officer on the same North St. Paul police force he worked on. He was a "fantastic person" with a sense of humor who led his department's motorcycle squad, the police chief said.

On a sunny Monday, he began a holiday shift at 7 a.m. Ninety minutes later Richard Crittenden, 57, who had spent nine years on the 19-member suburban police force, was dead.

The Maplewood police officer who had assisted Crittenden on a call to check a possible violation of a domestic protection order was wounded. And a 34-year-old suspect with a lengthy criminal record whom they had struggled with -- and who presumably shot Crittenden -- had also been killed.
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9-year veteran of suburban force