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Victim of alleged arson by former Laurel police chief talks to FOX 5
One of former Laurel police chief Dave Crawford's alleged arson victims, Richard McLaughlin - who is himself a former Laurel police chief - talks to FOX 5's Bob Barnard.
LAUREL, Md. - When former Laurel City Police Chief Richard McLaughlin saw the surveillance video of the arsonist pouring gasoline on his home, he knew the suspect’s walk and posture looked familiar.
READ MORE: Retired Laurel City Police Chief arrested in connection with fires across Maryland
Years of police work honed McLaughlin’s skill at identifying suspects – and when he finally heard the name of another former police chief – Dave Crawford – in connection with the incident, it all clicked.
"When the name was dropped, I reviewed the video again. I had recognized the person in the video but I just couldn’t put a name with it. As soon as they gave me a name, it absolutely fit with everything I recalled with my experience with him," McLaughlin told FOX 5’s Bob Barnard.
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Still, the revelation was shocking – McLaughlin, after all, had worked under Crawford for five years. And he says there was nothing to indicate that his former boss carried any grudge against him.
"It’s shocking – it’s very shocking. It’s very disturbing, I’m very angry. This was a man that I worked for, that I respected," McLaughlin said.
The fire at McLaughlin’s home is one of at least a dozen to which Crawford has been linked.
Investigators arrested Crawford earlier this week for similar fires throughout Maryland. He faces an array of charges stemming from fires in Charles County, Frederick County, Howard County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County.
READ MORE: Man injured, 10 displaced in Libertytown after house explosion
Crawford’s been charged with attempted murder, arson and malicious destruction in many of those cases.
The attempted murder charges arose out of the fact that there were clear signs the residents were inside the homes at the time Crawford set fire to the structures, according to investigators.
According to fire officials, they believed the same suspect was behind those fires – but did not make the connection to Crawford until they determined he had an axe to grind with the victims in each case.