A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office bailiff has agreed to have her peace officer license placed on probation seven years after she mistakenly shot a fleeing shoplifting suspect with her gun instead of her Taser while working for the Ladue Police.
Julia A. Crews, who has worked as a bailiff in Jefferson County since April 2023, and the Missouri Department of Public Safety agreed to the disciplinary action last month, according to Administrative Hearing Commission records.
Conditions of the agreement are not public records, and the filing does not say how long she will be on probation or why she was disciplined seven years after the Ladue shooting.
Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike O’Connell said in an email that an officer whose license is on probation may perform all the duties as any other licensed officer. He also said terms of probation may be retraining on particular subject matters or participation in a victim impact panel.
Sheriff Dave Marshak said Crews, who also uses the last name Loesch, first worked for the Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer from Feb. 23, 2022, through July 14, 2022. He said she then worked for the Hillsboro Police before returning to the Sheriff’s Office as a bailiff on April 10, 2023.
“We support the Department of Public Safety director’s decision and believe it is appropriate given the circumstances,” Marshak said. “This matter has extended over seven years. We hope this decision marks the final chapter of that process. The prolonged proceedings have taken a substantial personal and financial toll on her.”
Marshak said as a bailiff, Crews, 44, is responsible for maintaining decorum in the courtroom. He also said her current probation conditions do not restrict her authorization to carry or use the tools and weapons available to other commissioned officers, such as a service weapon and stun gun.
“I do not believe that this mistake, serious as it was, should automatically disqualify her from further service in law enforcement,” Marshak said. “Given the continued scrutiny and the personal toll, I am struck by her determination to continue serving.”
On April 23, 2019, Crews shot and wounded Fountain Hall in the parking lot of the Schnucks grocery store, 8867 Ladue Road, in the Ladue Crossing Plaza. Hall and another woman had been accused of stealing from the store, and police said Hall hit a store employee “in the face with a bag of stolen merchandise.”
Crews contacted Hall outside of the store, and Crews called for an ambulance to treat Hall, who appeared to have some minor injuries, according to the complaint for discipline filed by the Department of Public Safety.
Hall would not cooperate while being treated, and when Crews attempted to arrest Hall, a struggle ensued. Hall was able to get away from Crews, and she ran away, the complaint said.
Crews chased Hall, and she warned Hall that she would use her stun gun and shouted “Taser” three times before firing her weapon. Crews mistakenly pulled her gun instead of her Taser, and she told investigators she did not know she was holding her gun until after she fired it one time, according to the complaint.
Crews said she didn’t know why she pulled the gun instead of the Taser. Crews reported shooting her gun and assisted Hall, the complaint said.
Crews, who began working for Ladue Police in 2006, resigned from the department on May 3, 2019, shortly after the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged her with second-degree assault.
In 2020, the city of Ladue paid $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit that Hall filed against Crews and the city.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office dismissed the assault charge against Crews in 2021.
The Department of Public Safety filed the complaint with the Administrative Hearing Commission in September 2024, saying it wanted to discipline Crews. No reason was given for why the state waited five years to seek disciplinary action against Crews.
“The reality of policing is that officers must make critical decisions under intense physical and emotional stress,” Marshak said. “In her case, a shoplifting suspect physically resisted arrest, and during the struggle, she mistakenly drew her firearm instead of her Taser. That does not diminish the seriousness of what happened or the harm caused. It does require recognizing the difference between intentional misconduct and a tragic mistake during a physical confrontation.
“Too often, officers are portrayed as oppressors with little acknowledgment of the dangerous situations they are called upon to resolve. They are human, and even trained officers can make serious mistakes under extreme stress. An officer can make thousands of sound decisions, yet one mistake made in seconds can change lives forever, including the officer’s own.”