Na'Kia Crawford's Family Says Lawyer 'Bailed' After Learning Alleged Shooter is Black

The family of an 18-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot last week accused attorney Ben Crump on Monday of abandoning their case after learning the alleged shooter is Black.

Crump, who represents the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among others, has become one of the most prominent American lawyers in recent years through his defense of the families of Black Americans who were violently killed after interactions with both law enforcement and white Americans.

Na'kia Crawford was shot while driving with her grandmother in Akron, Ohio on June 14, and the Crawford family said they had not solicited Crump's services in the first place and no longer wanted his involvement.

"He reached out to us last week, stating that we reached out to him—but we didn't reach out to him," Na'kia Crawford's father, Nick Crawford, said during a Monday news conference.

"Ever since he found out that this killer isn't white, he's been distancing himself," Nick Crawford said. "He's been basically after the publicity."

On June 17, Crump announced the Crawford family had retained his services. Later that day, Crump posted information about the case in which he said Na'kia Crawford's grandmother had identified the shooter as a white male. In a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr that Crump posted on Twitter, Crump requested that the Department of Justice launch an investigation into the shooting due to his firm's belief that Na'kia Crawford was "gunned down solely due to her race."

The Akron Police Department has since identified three suspects involved in the shooting. The alleged shooter was still at large Tuesday morning despite repeated pleas from the Crawford family for the minor to turn himself in.

During the family's Monday press conference, Nick Crawford went on to say that Crump had "bailed on" them after setting up that very news briefing.

"Ben Crump, he's a fraud," he said. "We no longer need his services."

In a statement shared with Newsweek, Crump denied the family's allegations and said he would continue to support their efforts to locate the shooter.

"Based upon testimony from several witnesses suggesting the killer was white, we immediately started the process of advocating for a federal hate crime investigation," Crump's statement read. "As we now know that her killers have been identified as Black, it's clear her murder does not meet the definition of a hate crime and a DOJ investigation is not warranted.

"This fact does not change my passion to support her family through their grief," the statement continued. "I will continue to lend my voice to see that her killers are brought to justice and to urge local authorities to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."