St. Petersburg Police Department is saddened to learn of the passing of Retired Police Officer Freddie L. Crawford.

Freddie Crawford was among 12 Black officers, known as the Courageous 12, who fought the City of St. Petersburg for equality in the work place.

On May 11, 1965, the group filed a lawsuit in federal court and won their case on August 1, 1968. They won the right to carry out their jobs as intended and to be considered for promotion.

Freddie Crawford will always be remembered here at SPPD for leading the way for African Americans and other minorities to serve the community in every rank of law enforcement.

When more information becomes available on arrangements for Retired Officer Crawford, we will put out a media alert. Chief Holloway will be available to speak with media on Monday.

Please contact the Public Information Office at 727-893-7550 or the on-call PIO, Sandra Bentil at 727-420-6448 if you have any questions or would like to schedule an interview.