A 40-year-old police officer and a 42-year-old sergeant with the Athens Police Department were shot and killed on January 2 while responding to an emergency call. Just before 1 p.m., the police officer and the sergeant, who each had almost 19 years of service to law enforcement, were dispatched to respond to a call from a man who had dialed 911 three times and demanded to speak to the FBI. Upon being told that the FBI does not answer emergency calls, he asked the dispatcher to send the police. The officer arrived first, and as he pulled into the driveway of the residence to which he was dispatched, a man opened fire with a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle from inside the house. Despite his body armor, the officer was struck several times in the front upper torso and received a fatal wound to the front of his head. The shooter apparently then moved to the front porch behind a column and fired two rounds as the sergeant arrived on the scene in his patrol vehicle. Assigned as backup, the sergeant exited his vehicle to move to cover as the shooter fired several more rounds at him, striking him in the neck and fatally in the lower back. Reportedly, the man, who was under the influence of alcohol and who had prior mental disorders, then came out in the yard holding a rifle. He placed the gun on the ground and began walking around with his hands up. Seeing this, a neighbor told the suspect to lie on the ground with his hands out. The 28-year-old suspect, who had a prior criminal record including police assault, complied with the neighbor’s instructions and remained on the ground until additional police officers arrived. He was arrested and charged with Homicide–Capital Murder of a Police Officer, Homicide–Capital Murder More than 2 People, and Homicide–Capital Murder Victim in Vehicle. The police officer was pronounced dead on the scene, and the sergeant was flown to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Three officers with the Birmingham Police Department were shot and killed after serving an individual with a misdemeanor warrant for domestic assault at a known drug house in Ensley. A fourth officer with the department was injured during the incident, which occurred shortly after 1:15 p.m. on June 17. Upon arrival, the officers surrounded the home. Two officers, one aged 58 with nearly 29 years of law enforcement experience and one aged 40 with nearly 7 years of law enforcement experience, were at the back door of the residence. Another officer, 36 years old with 11 years of law enforcement experience, was at the rear of the house, and the fourth officer, 33 years old with nearly 4 years of law enforcement experience, was at the front door. The officers at the back door gained entry and served the warrant on the individual when another man in the house fired 15 rounds from a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle, striking both officers at close range. The 58-year-old officer was fatally struck in the front of the chest. The 40-year-old officer was fatally struck in the torso when the rounds penetrated his protective vest. The officer at the rear of the house went inside the residence to join the other officers when he heard shots. He was also fired upon, but his holster deflected the round. He reported that shots came from the front of the house as well as the back. The officer who was covering the front of the residence had entered also. He was wounded in the torso, the round having penetrated his body armor, and was fatally shot in the face. The 27-year-old subject of the warrant and the 24-year-old alleged shooter took the service weapon, a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, of one of the downed officers and fled the residence. Police arrested the pair a short time later at a nearby home. Both suspects had past criminal histories and were under the influence of narcotics and alcohol at the time of the incident. The alleged assailant was charged with three counts of Capital Murder and one count of Attempted Murder. The subject of the warrant, a known drug user who was on probation at the time, was charged with three counts of Capital Murder on a Law Enforcement Officer and Attempt to Commit Murder.
Two officers with the Phoenix Police Department were shot and killed at about 6:10 p.m. on August 28 when they responded to a call of shots fired at an apartment complex. The two were among five officers who, when they arrived at the scene, learned that two men had been involved in a confrontation and one of them had shot and wounded the other. The shooter also fired at friends of the wounded man, then entered an apartment on the second floor. The officers evacuated residents from the surrounding apartments and attempted to contact the suspect. When the suspect failed to respond, the officers tried to knock down the hollow core door by kicking it in. On their first attempt, the officers broke the door at the bottom, but it did not open. An officer kicked the door again, and this time the door flew open. The suspect, armed with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, immediately opened fire on the officers. The officer who had kicked the door open, a 30-year-old with nearly 5 years of law enforcement experience, was standing with his right side facing the open door and was struck in the chest by a bullet that entered through the armhole of his protective vest. He died instantly. A 27-year-old officer with 5½ years of law enforcement experience fired two shots at the suspect before he was hit by gunfire, once in the left hand and fatally in the front of his head. In an exchange of gunfire, a third officer was struck by a round from another officer that ricocheted from the exterior apartment wall. The same officer was also wounded by a shot that entered under the front panel of his protective vest when the suspect opened fire as officers attempted to retrieve the bodies of the two victim officers. After the area was secured, a SWAT team entered the apartment to find the 29-year-old suspect, who had prior mental disorders, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The officer wounded by the suspect returned to duty about 4 weeks later.
Shortly before 1 p.m. on February 20, a 31-year-old police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department was shot and killed when responding to a domestic dispute. The officer, who had over 2 years of law enforcement experience, and his partner met the complainant on the street in front of her apartment. The woman told the officers that her boyfriend refused to leave her residence and requested that the two officers ask the man to leave. The officers escorted the woman to her second-floor apartment and entered. As one of the officers approached the man to search him, the man produced a 10 mm semiautomatic handgun and shot at the officers. The officers pulled the woman from the apartment and down the stairs. The man continued to shoot at the officers, striking the victim officer once in the back below his protective vest and once fatally in the torso through the edge trim of his vest. Both officers returned fire. The suspect escaped after he jumped from the second story landing to the roof of an adjacent building, and then jumped over a fence behind that property. The victim officer was transported to a local hospital, where he died during surgery a couple of hours later. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department set up a security perimeter in an effort to capture the shooter. Officers arrested the man about 3½ hours after the incident approximately 4 blocks from the scene. The 32-year-old suspect, who had an extensive criminal record and was on parole for armed robbery at the time of the incident, was charged with Murder and Attempted Murder. The suspect was found dead of a presumed suicide in his cell 6 days after the incident.
Two San Francisco police officers who were on patrol in an undercover assignment were gunned down by an individual with a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle at 9:34 p.m. on April 10. The officers, aged 29 and 38, observed a man wearing a long coat, which they thought might be concealing some object. They pulled over their patrol vehicle and ordered the suspect to stop for questioning. As the two officers exited their vehicle, the man pulled a rifle from under his coat and fired 17 shots at them. The 38-year-old officer was shot but eventually recovered. The younger officer, who had over 8 years of law enforcement service, was fatally wounded when the bullets penetrated his protective vest and entered his lower back. He was transported to an area hospital where he died later that evening. The alleged killer fled the area and discarded the weapon, which police later recovered. Based upon a tip from a citizen, the authorities tracked the 21-year-old man to a regional medical center in San Ramon and arrested him there on April 11. The suspect, who had a history of violent criminal activity, was charged with Murder and Attempted Murder.
A 34-year-old senior police officer with the Merced Police Department was shot and killed shortly before 7:30 p.m. on April 15 after initiating a traffic stop. According to the woman driving the vehicle, the officer approached the passenger side of the automobile to speak to the individual who was riding with her in the front seat. The officer, who was a member of the Merced Police Department’s Gang Unit and had nearly 8 years of experience, apparently recognized the man in the vehicle as a convicted drug dealer who was on parole. He began to search the subject, whereupon the man pushed the officer away and ran off. The officer gave chase and was fatally wounded when the suspect turned and fired three rounds from a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun at his pursuer. Although one of the bullets missed him, one hit the officer in the right arm and another entered his chest just above his protective vest. Witnesses telephoned the police, who found the victim officer lying on the sidewalk. He died a short time later at a local hospital. Authorities mounted an intensive manhunt, which culminated in the arrest of a 21-year-old man on May 2. The suspect, whose lengthy criminal history included police assault, was charged with Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer.
On April 21 at 2:48 p.m., a 35-year-old officer attached to the Santa Fe Springs office of the California Highway Patrol was shot down in an apparent ambush as he walked from the courthouse in Pomona to a nearby parking lot. The officer, with 5 years’ experience in law enforcement, had paused at the edge of the street to wait for a passing automobile. However, the vehicle stopped approximately 11–20 feet away, and before driving off, the lone occupant fired three to five shots from a .38-caliber revolver at the uniformed officer. The officer, who was wearing body armor, was struck in the neck and head. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries several hours later. Immediately after the shooting, the Los Angeles police joined the Pomona police in searching for the vehicle. Within 15 minutes of the shooting, they located the abandoned vehicle a few blocks from the incident. Investigators traced the vehicle’s license plate and identified the owner of the automobile, who lived in Fontana , California . The police located the owner who indicated that he had allowed his young son to use the automobile for the day. A search of the house turned up evidence that the son was a member of a violent gang that had sworn vengeance against the Pomona police following the justifiable killing of a juvenile gang member by a police officer a few months earlier. The 16-year-old male, who had a criminal history involving weapons violations, was located and arrested the following day. He was charged with Murder.
On August 10 at 5:30 a.m., an off-duty captain with the Los Angeles County Police Department, who had 31 years of law enforcement service, was shot and killed when two men attempted to rob him as he was riding his bicycle along a public road in Compton. The two robbers apparently spotted the captain riding alone, exited their vehicle, and approached him carrying a rifle. The 53-year-old officer saw the weapon and immediately drew his service pistol and official identification from his fanny pack. He attempted to take cover behind a nearby traffic signal control box, but before the captain could reach cover, one of the men began shooting with the 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle and wounded him. The assailants then jumped into their automobile and circled the block before returning to the scene where the injured officer was lying on the ground. As they drove by, the man with the rifle leaned out of the passenger’s window and fired several more shots at the captain, hitting him with a total of nine bullets. The wounded officer returned fire, striking the assailants’ vehicle several times as it sped away. One of his shots hit the armed suspect in the torso. The officer was then able to use his cell phone to summon aid and provide detailed information about the suspects to responding officers. Emergency medical staff treated the captain at the scene before transporting him to an area hospital where he died of a fatal injury to his front lower torso. Within 30 minutes of the attempted robbery, two suspects were in custody. Investigators located a wounded 21-year-old man at a nearby emergency room, and a motorcycle police officer arrested a 19-year-old suspected accomplice when he ran a red light after dropping the alleged shooter off at the hospital. Both men were charged with Murder and Attempted Robbery.
A 19-year law enforcement veteran with the Newington Police Department was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call on December 30. A female resident had called the Department at 10:22 p.m. complaining that her boyfriend had injured her during a fight. Responding to the call, the 47-year-old master patrol officer and his partner found the complainant standing in the driveway. She told the officers that her boyfriend was under the influence of alcohol and was inside the house. The two officers accompanied the woman into the home. After securing the first floor, the officers began descending a stairway to search the basement. The master patrol officer was in the lead when the woman’s boyfriend, who was hiding in the cellar, opened fire with a 5.56 mm automatic rifle. Bullets from the weapon penetrated the victim officer’s protective vest, striking him in the stomach and, fatally, in the chest. He fell to the bottom of the stairs; his partner was able to retreat and summon assistance. There followed a lengthy standoff, which involved officers and tactical teams from several nearby agencies using various techniques, including flooding the basement, to compel the assailant to surrender. When all efforts failed to produce the suspect, officials entered the basement. They found the victim officer’s body at the foot of the stairs. A further search of the basement turned up the body of his killer, a 45-year-old man, who had died from a gunshot wound, apparently self-inflicted.
At 2:10 a.m. on June 2, a 34-year-old sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department was fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with an apparent robber at an apartment house in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Apparently, the 15-year veteran law enforcement officer, who was off duty at the time of the incident, was in the vestibule of an apartment building when a young male approached him brandishing a weapon and announcing a robbery. A gunfight ensued that culminated in the deaths of both the officer and his 16-year-old assailant. The self-announced robber fired three shots from a .32-caliber revolver and fatally struck the officer in his upper torso. The victim officer returned fire, hitting his attacker with ten rounds. The assailant, who was under judicial supervision because of juvenile convictions, was pro nounced dead at the scene. The officer was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A short time before 12:15 p.m. on February 7, a master deputy sheriff with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed during an unprovoked attack in Ocala . The 36-year-old deputy, who had more than 9 years of law enforcement experience, was dispatched to conduct a well-being check on an individual. The family member who requested the check reported that the man possessed a firearm. Although the veteran deputy, who was wearing body armor, was assigned as backup, he was the first on the scene. He tried unsuccessfully to talk to the man, who remained inside his home. Meanwhile, other officers had arrived at the scene and were assisting the master deputy when the man fired two shots from a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun from inside the house, striking the master deputy at close range in the torso and fatally in the neck. As fellow deputies tried to remove the victim officer from the scene, other officers repeatedly commanded the shooter to surrender. The man refused to comply with the officers’ demands. When the officers made physical contact with the man, he grabbed the barrel of a deputy’s shotgun. The suspect was subsequently shot and killed. The 74-year-old man had prior mental disorders. The victim officer died en route to a local hospital.
During a vehicle pursuit for a traffic violation on April 27, a 55-year-old sergeant with the Florida Highway Patrol (Lake City Detachment) was killed at 10:05 a.m. The sergeant, who had 33 years of experience, was pursuing a suspect for a speed violation. In the course of the chase, the driver apparently engaged his emergency brake in an effort to stop without activating his break lights. In so doing, he forced the sergeant to take evasive maneuvers, causing the officer to lose control of his patrol vehicle. The sergeant’s vehicle left the roadway and hit a tree. The victim officer died the same day as a result of his injuries. Shortly after the crash, the suspect was spotted by Citrus County deputies subsequent to an issuance of a “be on the lookout” notice. Allegedly, the suspect tried to cause these officers to lose control of their vehicle by suddenly engaging his brakes. During the pursuit, the suspect’s vehicle collided with another vehicle and, putting his car in reverse, the man then hit a Citrus County cruiser before exiting his vehicle and fleeing on foot. A witness to the pursuit attempted to grab him. The suspect then turned to face the officers and, with an aggressive posture, taunted the officers to shoot him. Deputies ordered the suspect to the ground several times. He did not comply and instead continued his aggressive movement toward one of the officers. Two officers deployed tasers and incapacitated him. The suspect, who had a history of criminal conduct including weapons violations and drugs, was then handcuffed and taken into custody. The 31-year-old man was charged with Second-Degree Murder, Burglary, Fleeing and Attempting to Elude, Resisting Arrest without Violence, and Driving with License Suspended.
On August 19 around 8:45 in the morning, a Broward County Sheriff’s Office detective with nearly 10 years of experience was shot and killed while assisting U.S. Customs in the arrest of a suspect for the possession of child pornography. The detective and his partner had arrived at the front door of the suspect’s residence with the intention of executing the arrest and search warrant. As the officers gained entry to the residence, they immediately took on gunfire from the suspect. The 33-year-old detective sustained a mortal wound to the chest when a round from the .30-30-caliber lever-action rifle penetrated his body armor. His partner also sustained gunshot wounds to his left hand and left shoulder where a bullet entered the armhole of his body armor. The 42-year-old shooter then surrendered to deputies at the scene and was taken into custody. The suspect, who had a prior arrest for police assault, was charged with Murder, Conspiracy to Possess Child Pornography, Possession of Child Pornography, and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice.
On December 29 at 9:15 p.m., a patrol officer with the Pendergrass Police Department was shot and killed while attempting to make a traffic stop. The 45-year-old officer tried to stop two males in a vehicle for a traffic violation. Instead of stopping, the driver of the vehicle sped away and a short chase ensued. In the course of the chase, the vehicle crashed into a ditch. The 14-year veteran officer exited his police cruiser and approached the disabled vehicle. The driver, who had gotten out of his car, began shooting at the officer from the ditch with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The officer was wounded several times: in the front upper torso, in the front lower torso below his protective vest, and, fatally, in the head. The driver fled the scene of the shooting on foot. The passenger, still in the vehicle, was apprehended at the scene by arriving officers from t he Pendergrass Police Department and deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. The victim officer died at the scene. The responding officers located the driver a short time later in a nearby field, wounded from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. The 26-year-old driver, who was under supervision and on conditional release at the time of the shooting, and the 18-year-old passenger were both charged with Murder. Subsequently, the passenger agreed to testify on behalf of the government; he was finally charged with Conspiracy to Commit a Burglary and Possession of Tools for Commission of a Crime.
A 39-year-old detective with the Riverdale Police Department was shot and killed on February 4 while handling a prisoner who was brought to the police department on charges of Home Invasion, Aggravated Kidnapping, and Attempted First-Degree Murder. At 8:15 p.m. , the veteran detective with 12 years of law enforcement experience was moving the prisoner from an interview room to a lock-up area for processing. The man, who was not handcuffed at the time, managed to remove the detective’s service weapon, a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, from its holster. He led the detective outside and forced him behind a building where he shot him in the side of the head, killing him instantly. The 27-year-old suspect then attempted to carjack three separate cars but was unsuccessful, even though he shot at and wounded the driver of the first car. The drivers of the other two vehicles used their cars to knock him down as they sped away. Three Riverdale police officers arrived on the scene and ordered the suspect to drop his weapon. He responded by firing the weapon at the officers. The officers returned fire, striking the suspect. He died at the scene.
A 31-year-old patrol officer with the Indianapolis Police Department, who had nearly 4½ years of law enforcement experience, was fatally shot at 2 a.m. on August 18 when he was dispatched to a scene where another officer had been wounded. The wounded officer, an 8-year law enforcement veteran, was investigating a disturbance call (shots fired) when he was shot in his lower abdomen and left thigh. Before the attack, the officer had arrived at a residence and interviewed the person reporting that a man was shooting a machine gun from behind a nearby dwelling. After the interview, the officer drove his patrol car closer to the residence, and the man began firing at him with a semiautomatic rifle. It was then that the officer notified the dispatcher that he had been shot and requested backup. An assisting officer drove to the wounded officer’s vehicle and removed him and a witness from the scene as the shooter continued peppering the area with shots. The wounded officer subsequently was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
As the assailant continued his rampage, additional responding officers, including the 31-year-old patrol officer, took positions in the area. The patrol officer, who was crouched behind the opened passenger door of his cruiser, was shot in his chest before he was able to fire his service weapon. The bullet entered above his protective vest near his collarbone and traveled down his body causing severe internal injuries. Officers removed the mortally wounded officer from the scene and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him while they waited for medical assistance to arrive. The officer subsequently was transported to a nearby hospital where he died.
In the meantime, a SWAT officer, who had 16 years of law enforcement experience, and several other units moved into position to locate the shooter, who had moved from his initial location behind the dwelling. The officers could not immediately determine the assailant’s position, but they knew he was nearby as the shots rang out in the darkness. As the SWAT officer opened the trunk of his vehicle to retrieve one of his weapons, the suspect shot him in his right knee. The assailant shot two patrol officers as well, striking one officer in his right bicep and the other in his left wrist. Other officers at the scene extricated the two injured patrol officers, who were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Although the SWAT officer was wounded, he took cover behind a telephone pole after he had located the position of the shooter. The suspect appeared from behind a vehicle parked in front of a residence, and the SWAT officer fired at him. The officer advanced toward the shooter staying on the opposite side of the parked vehicle for cover. As he approached the suspect, the officer emptied all 24 rounds of his SWAT-issued M-4 service rifle. Some of the rounds struck the man; however, he was still standing and attempting to aim his weapon at the officer. The officer was able to get close enough to strike the suspect in the head with the butt of the rifle. The blow knocked the suspect to the ground on his back; however, he rolled to his left and attempted to fire at the officer with a pistol he was also carrying. The SWAT officer fired his handgun, delivering a fatal shot to the assailant. Ultimately, the officer had struck the man eight times—three times in his chest, twice in his head, and three times in his legs. The shooter died at the scene. The SWAT officer was then transported to a local hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound.
Investigating officers entered the initial residence from where the shooter had begun his assault and found the body of the suspect’s mother, who had been shot three times in the torso. Later investigation revealed that the 33-year-old shooter’s mental state had caused police to detain him a few months earlier. At the time he was detained, the confused man thought he had killed his mother and brother. During the man’s detention, the police discovered a cache of weapons the man had accumulated. At the request of the man’s mother and officers on the scene, the weapons were confiscated. The unstable man was hospitalized, treated, and subsequently released. Unfortunately, the officials had no legal grounds to retain the weapons, and they had returned them to the man a few weeks before the incident when the man and his brother had attempted to regain possession of them. Police had designated the shooter’s home a “hazard area”; however, his shooting spree began at his mother’s residence, which had not been flagged.
A 31-year-old patrol officer with the Butler University Police Department in Indianapolis was killed at 11 a.m. on September 24 while answering a suspicious person call. Reportedly, a man had been watching the women’s basketball team practice and had been asked by university employees to leave the field house. The responding officer, who had 2 years of law enforcement experience, confronted the man in a nearby parking lot. Witnesses reported seeing the officer and the man talking and, after hearing a single gunshot, found the victim officer lying on the asphalt. Apparently, the officer and the suspect had struggled, and the man had disarmed the officer and shot him in the side of his head with the victim’s .40-caliber semiautomatic service weapon. Witnesses later reported seeing the man pick up a weapon before he fled the scene. The victim officer, who was wearing body armor at the time of the attack, was transported to a local hospital, but he died en route from the gunshot wound. When a radio dispatcher broadcast that an officer had been shot, more than 100 officers from various departments arrived at the scene to search for the shooter. Approximately 2 hours later, police spotted a man walking in the neighborhood who fit the alleged assailant’s description. Police reported that the 26-year-old male reached into his pants pocket, pulled out a firearm, and shot at the officers. They returned fire, shooting the man multiple times. He died at a local hospital later that day. Officers recovered the victim officer’s duty weapon at the scene where they encountered the man.
An off-duty lieutenant with the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed just before 11:45 a.m. on January 8 as he began a shift of his second job as a security officer for a bank in New Orleans. The 50-year-old veteran lieutenant, with over 10 years of law enforcement experience, was confronted by a man who walked up behind him and placed a .38-caliber revolver to his head. The man removed the lieutenant’s handgun from its holster while two armed accomplices entered the bank. An off-duty captain, who also worked a second job at the bank, was in the corner and had not been noticed by the suspects. He drew his revolver and shot two of the offenders, including the suspect holding the officer at gunpoint. The captain wounded the suspect in the left hand and the leg, which caused the man to fall to the ground and drop both weapons he was holding. The uninjured accomplice fled the bank. The other offender whom the captain shot was wounded in the leg and fell near the front door. Though injured, this suspect was able to fire six rounds from his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. A surveillance video showed that during this time, the lieutenant attempted to take cover behind the check writing stand and tried to fire a revolver he had retrieved. He was, however, exposed to the line of fire from the offender shooting the handgun. A bullet penetrated the officer’s ring finger on his gun hand, glanced off the brown grips of the weapon, and struck him in the upper chest, fatally wounding him. The man then picked up the lieutenant’s 9 mm handgun and fired one shot in the direction of the 48-year-old captain, which struck him in the right foot. The 51-year-old shooter then left the bank, but was apprehended near the drive-through lane. His two accomplices, also in their 50s, were apprehended as they attempted to leave the scene. The victim officer was transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. Of the three suspects, two, including the shooter, were on probation at the time of the incident; all were known to be drug dealers or users. They were all charged with Federal Bank Robbery Wherein Person was Killed.
At 10:10 p.m., on May 22, a 51-year-old lieutenant with the Baton Rouge Police Department was shot and killed while detaining a shoplifter. Working an off-duty security detail at a local department store, the law enforcement veteran of over 27 years’ service and the store’s loss prevention officer detained a suspect and removed from his possession two disposable cameras that the male had allegedly shoplifted. When notified of the allegations, the suspect resisted the officers and a struggle ensued, during which both officers and the suspect fell to the floor. The suspect disarmed the lieutenant and shot her twice in the front of the head with her .357-caliber revolver, fatally wounding her. He then shot the store’s loss prevention officer and a customer. Following the shootings, the assailant fled to the parking lot where he carjacked a vehicle and left the scene. Responding emergency personnel transported the victim officer to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead upon arrival. Presumably, the other shooting victims also received medical treatment; both survived the incident. During the subsequent search for the shooter and the stolen vehicle, an officer with the Baton Rouge Police Department found the vehicle abandoned in North Baton Rouge, but did not find the assailant. The man, who was on parole at the time of the incident, surrendered 48 hours later, however, following negotiations between the police department and his family. The 33-year-old was charged with First-Degree Murder of a Police Officer, Illegal Use of a Weapon, Disarming a Police Officer, Armed Robbery, Theft, Issuing Worthless Checks, and Attempted First-Degree Murder (two counts).
A 53-year-old veteran officer with the New Orleans Police Department died July 10 from injuries sustained in an incident nearly 20 years earlier. The officer, then 33 years old with more than 14 years of experience, was with one of several police units responding to a burglary in progress at a home at 3:30 p.m., March 18, 1985. He was securing an alley adjacent to the residence when a man opened a window of the home near where the officer was standing. The man attempted to get out of the house through the window apparently to evade other officers at the front and rear of the home. Upon seeing the officer in the alley, the man shot him twice at close range with a .357-magnum revolver he had taken from the residence. The suspect then jumped from the window and ran toward the backyard, where he apparently dropped the gun. He crossed neighboring properties by jumping several fences, including one around a swimming pool into which he fell. Officers in pursuit apprehended him in a courtyard of an apartment complex. The victim officer, who had bullet wounds in his neck and in the front of his head, was transported via police vehicle to a local medical facility. Several days later, surgeons removed a bullet from the back of his neck. Though shortly after the incident his condition showed improvement, the officer subsequently lapsed into a coma that lasted until his death. Police charged the perpetrator, who was 18 years old at the time of the incident, with Attempted First-Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, and Aggravated Burglary. According to police reports, the suspect confirmed his involvement in the burglary and the shooting.
An officer with the New Orleans Police Department was killed August 9 while trying to serve a protective order on a man who suffered from mental illness. The 27-year-old officer, who had nearly 4 years of law enforcement experience, arrived at the man’s apartment with her partner at 11 p.m. Upon entering the residence, the officers found that the man had locked himself in a bedroom. After trying to elicit a response from the man and receiving none, the officers called for backup and then forced open the bedroom door. The officer’s partner shone a flashlight around the room; she did not see anyone, but she heard a loud “popping” sound. The partner left the bedroom and then realized the officer was not behind her in the hallway. The partner turned and saw the man standing over the victim officer, shooting her in the chest at close range with a .50-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The partner retreated to a bathroom for cover and exchanged fire with the man. When the additional law enforcement units arrived, the responding officers shot and killed the 38-year-old perpetrator. The victim officer, who had been shot 14 times and received injuries to her torso, below her waist, and her arms and hands, was transported to a local medical center where she was pronounced dead. Though bullets did not fully penetrate her body armor, the victim officer died from blunt force trauma to the chest.
On August 11, shortly after 3 p.m., a 27-year-old patrol officer with the Bossier City Police Department was dispatched to a local residence to investigate a 911 hang-up call. Upon his arrival, the patrol officer, who had over 6 years of law enforcement experience, approached the home and knocked on the door. When the door opened, a man exited the home with a 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun. As the patrol officer turned from the suspect to create distance, the man fired one round, which entered the arm opening of the officer’s ballistic vest, striking him in the front upper chest area. The victim officer fell and tried to get up; however, the suspect fired a second round striking him in the back. It was later determined that the suspect, who had a violent history and prior criminal record, returned to his residence and committed suicide. Investigators found that the spouse of the 65-year-old suspect had attempted the initial 911 call while the couple was engaged in a domestic dispute. The wife had left the home before the officer and additional assisting units arrived. The victim officer died as a result of the chest wound.
The Assistant Chief of Police with the Wisner Police Department was shot and killed on October 10 just before 10:30 a.m. while investigating a burglary in progress. According to the complainant, her brother was burglarizing the residence of another sibling, who was currently incarcerated. The 62-year-old officer, who had over 6 years of law enforcement experience, arrived at the residence and called for backup. Before the additional officers arrived, the assistant chief apparently confronted the suspect and a struggle ensued. During the altercation, the man seemingly disarmed the assistant chief, taking his .357 magnum revolver and shot him four times, striking him once in his right thigh, twice in his torso, and fatally in the front of his head. Moments later, the responding officers arrived and found the assailant standing over the victim officer’s body beating the mortally wounded officer in the face with the police badge he had taken from the officer’s shirt. The 43-year-old man, who had a prior criminal record and a history of mental disorders, was taken into custody and charged with First-Degree Murder.
On the evening of July 3 about 9 p.m., a 36-year-old veteran officer with the Baltimore Police Department was shot and killed while investigating a domestic situation. The officer, with nearly 11 years of experience in law enforcement, was dispatched to a residence where a woman had requested a person be removed from the premises. When the officer arrived, the complainant told him the man had already left. After obtaining descriptions of the two men, the officer returned to his vehicle and began canvassing the neighborhood for them. He located the complainant’s niece who told the officer the direction the individual and his companion had gone. The officer caught up with the two men in front of a liquor store, and after requesting backup, he exited his cruiser and called to the men. Both men ignored the officer and entered the store with the officer following. The officer asked both men for identification, and the first man produced an Ohio driver’s license. The second man said that he had no ID but was over 18 years of age. Witnesses reported that a few moments later, the officer spun around quickly in an attempt to exit the store, and they then heard gunshots. Apparently, the second man had produced a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and began shooting at the officer. As the officer turned, he exposed the side panel of his protective vest and was mortally wounded in the chest through his arm. The shooter then followed the officer outside and proceeded to fire at him four more times, hitting him in his left side and three times in the legs. A second Baltimore officer had arrived on the scene as back up and witnessed the victim officer leaving the store and falling to the ground as the two suspects fled the store. The arriving officer fired at the suspects and then radioed for medical assistance before administering first aid to the victim officer. The first suspect reentered the liquor store and hid a second 9 mm handgun (later found to be stolen) behind a display, as the armed shooter fled on foot. The first suspect then attempted to flee on foot as well. He was apprehended nearby by other responding officers and was taken into custody and questioned. He corroborated other witnesses’ accounts of the shooting. Four days later, investigators located the shooter, who had an extensive criminal history that included police assault and weapons violations. Officers were dispatched to a motel where they found the 33-year-old shooter, who proceeded to take his own life with a shot to the head. The 31-year-old suspect, already in custody, was charged with First-Degree Murder and Handgun on Person.
Two police officers with the Detroit Police Department were killed during a traffic stop shortly after 1:50 a.m. on February 16. Investigators believe that the officers may have stopped an individual after they witnessed his attempt to solicit a prostitute. Apparently, the man exited his car, surrendered his driver’s license to the officers, and got into the backseat of the patrol car. While the officers, who were both wearing body armor, were running a check of the individual’s driver’s license, the suspect apparently pulled out a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun and fatally shot the officer who was sitting in the front passenger seat in her face and head. The suspect then fired at the officer sitting in the driver’s seat, possibly wounding him. It appears that the suspect subsequently ran into a nearby field. Apparently, the officer who was the driver was able to get out of the vehicle and may have fired three shots at the suspect. The officer then checked on his partner and radioed that there was an officer down, which was his last transmission. Seemingly, the suspect returned to the scene and shot the officer in the head and torso under his protective vest. Responding officers found the officer lying about 60 feet from the patrol vehicle; his service weapon was missing. Police arrested a 19-year-old male and charged him in connection with the killings.
About 8:35 p.m. on June 4, a 30-year-old police officer with the Sterling Heights Police Department was mortally wounded in an apparent ambush as he was sitting in his cruiser in the parking lot of a local department store. The officer, who had nearly 5 years of law enforcement experience, was completing paperwork when, according to witnesses as well as a security camera on-site, a vehicle pulled along the passenger side of the officer’s patrol car. The driver then lowered his window and shot the victim officer, who was wearing body armor, in the rear of the head with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. The shooter then exited his vehicle, opened the patrol car door, and took the victim officer’s .40-caliber semiautomatic duty pistol. The man returned to his car and drove away from the scene. The officer died the next day. The incident was subsequently profiled on a national television show. Shortly thereafter, acting on a tip received, officers and federal agents located the suspect in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 25. During a raid of the residence where he was hiding, the 33-year-old assailant used the victim officer’s weapon to commit suicide.
A 19-year law enforcement veteran died on November 7 at age 57 as a result of injuries he sustained while handling a mentally deranged person on September 22, 1990. At 5:50 p.m., the detective with the Sault Sainte Marie Police Department responded to a call to a home where a man with mental health problems had become violent and threatened his family members. The individual had threatened the officers who had initially responded to the scene before barricading himself in the basement of the home. The detective, who knew the offender, tried to communicate with him for several hours. Finally, the detective obtained a chemical agent from another officer and slowly descended the stairs to the dimly lit basement, moving debris along the way. As the detective reached the bottom of the stairs, the man jumped from a concealed area, lunged toward the detective, and stabbed him through the eye with a large knife. The other officers at the scene were able to subdue the man, who was 37 years old at the time of the incident. He was arrested and charged with Assault with Intent to Murder and was later committed to a psychiatric institution. As a result of the stab wound, the victim officer was severely incapacitated until the time of his death.
A police officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was shot and killed on January 30 while conducting an investigation into drug sales in his assigned Weed and Seed Program neighborhood. At 1:45 p.m., the 24-year-old investigating officer, who had nearly 2½ years of law enforcement service, and his 26-year-old partner, who had almost 3 years of law enforcement service, were led by their investigation to question the occupant of a car that was stopped in a store’s parking lot. The two officers were not in uniform but were wearing protective vests; they were clearly identifiable as police officers. When they approached the suspect, he became violent, striking at the officers and attempting to flee. As the officers wrestled with him in an attempt to make an arrest, the suspect was able to remove the pistol from the holster of the investigating officer. The suspect, now armed with the officer’s 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, shot the officer’s partner, knocking him to the ground and fracturing his shoulder. He then turned and fatally shot the victim officer once in the chest above his protective vest. Though critically injured, the victim officer’s partner was able to draw his own pistol and fire five rounds at the suspect, striking him once. The suspect, a 31-year-old male, fled approximately 150 feet on foot and then collapsed. He later died from his injury.
A deputy sheriff with the Otero County Sheriff’s Department was killed on December 18 after responding to a call of shots fired in a suspected domestic incident. The 49-year-old deputy, who had 6 years of law enforcement experience, approached a home in the city of Cloudcroft with his partner at 6:30 p.m. while canvassing the neighborhood where the call originated in an effort to find the source of the shots. A man was on the front porch of the home, and a car was backed up to the door with its trunk open. The two officers made contact with the man, who went inside the home, slamming and locking the front door. The officers saw what they perceived to be blood on the front porch and backed away from the home, calling for backup. When the deputy went around the home to the rear porch, the man apparently ambushed him. He shot the deputy in the side of the head with a .357-caliber revolver and killed him. The shooter then went to the front of the house and fired at the other officer. The assisting officer returned fire, striking and killing the man. Based on a review of the scene, investigators alleged that the suspect had killed his girlfriend and while attempting to load her body into the trunk of the car, he observed the officers in the neighborhood. He then apparently took her body into the house and placed it in a closet before confronting the officers. On parole at the time of the incident, the 38-year-old suspect had a criminal history including violent crimes, drugs, and police assault.
A 38-year-old lieutenant with the Albany Police Department died on February 12 as a result of line-of-duty wounds sustained on December 23, 2003. At 11:30 p.m. on the night of the incident, officers responded to an armed robbery in progress call at a convenience store and spotted the alleged robber about a block from the store. The lieutenant, who had more than 13 years of law enforcement experience, provided backup and joined the ensuing footchase after he arrived on the scene. During the pursuit, the suspect emerged from behind a parked car and allegedly fired 12 shots from a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at the officer. Four rounds struck the lieutenant, once in the chest, once in each leg, and fatally in the lower back below his protective vest. Despite his injuries, the officer shot the suspect three times, wounding him. The victim officer was rushed to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds several weeks later. The 26-year-old suspect, a known drug dealer on probation at the time of the shooting, recovered from his injuries. On January 5, police arrested the man and charged him with First-Degree Murder, Attempted First-Degree Murder, Criminal Use of a Firearm, and Criminal Possession of a Loaded Firearm.
A bay constable with the Town of Babylon was shot and killed while attempting an arrest on July 16. The 44-year-old officer saw an individual driving erratically and conducted a registration check from his patrol vehicle. The officer, who had 23 years of law enforcement experience, then followed the subject to his home. He reported that the man entered his house, and he let his dogs out. About 3:10 p.m., dispatchers lost radio communication with the officer, and calls to his cellular telephone went unanswered. Police later confirmed that the subject shot the officer twice with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, striking him in the front upper chest and fatally in the side of the head. Police also confirmed that as the suspect fled the scene in his vehicle, he ran over the victim officer’s body. Subsequently, he also became involved in an armed confrontation with some officers with the New York State Park Police. One of the officers shot and killed the 40-year-old suspect, who was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics at the time of the incident. The victim officer was pronounced dead at the scene.
A short time after 8:30 p.m. on September 10, two detectives with the New York Police Department were killed while attempting to apprehend a suspect wanted for a domestic violence complaint. The 39-year-old detective with 15 years of law enforcement experience and the 43-year-old detective with over 22 years of experience arrived at the address to find the suspect sitting inside his car. While the officers were attempting to remove the suspect from the car, the suspect grabbed a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from one of the detectives and discharged seven rounds, mortally wounding both officers. Before the 43-year-old detective succumbed to the wounds he suffered in the front lower torso and fatally in the front upper torso, he was able to provide the identity of the man who had shot him to a dispatcher. The 39-year-old detective, although wounded in the front upper torso, rear lower torso, and mortally below the waist, was able to draw his own service weapon and fire one round, which struck the 28-year-old suspect. After fleeing on foot and carjacking a vehicle, the suspect was arrested at an apartment building the following day and was charged with Murder.
A 28-year law enforcement veteran with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed in the town of Apex shortly after 1:15 p.m. on February 12 while investigating a suspicious person. The 49-year-old investigator saw a parked vehicle in a commercial construction area that was known to be frequented by young people to engage in illegal activity. He pulled his unmarked patrol car in front of the vehicle, partially blocking its forward path. An individual was standing near the rear of the vehicle with the trunk open. The officer exited his patrol car, walked around the driver’s door, and approached the individual. The man apparently reached into the trunk, pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun, and pointed it at the officer. The officer tried to retreat behind the driver’s side door of the patrol car and raised his arms in an attempt to negotiate with the individual and calm the situation. However, the individual allegedly fired one shot, striking the officer in the left side of the face, mortally wounding him. The suspect, who had prior arrests for police assault and was on probation stemming from a breaking and entering arrest, then fled in his car. A short time later, a passerby saw the officer on the ground outside his patrol car with the engine running. The passerby went to a nearby home and called emergency personnel. During the subsequent investigation, the police located two individuals who had attempted to assist the suspect by providing him with an alibi and helping him dispose of the gun. Under interrogation, these two persons furnished information that led the police to the 18-year-old suspect, who was arrested on February 14 and charged with First-Degree Murder.
A 34-year-old sergeant with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office was ambushed, shot, and killed while attempting to serve commitment papers to an apparently mentally disturbed individual. Around 10:15 on the evening of April 4, the sergeant, along with three deputies, arrived at the residence of a man whose wife had requested the commitment order earlier in the evening. The wife alleged that the man was having “ Vietnam flashbacks,” was heavily armed, and had commented to her that he would not be taken alive if she called the police. The officers arrived at the couple’s residence, which had been landscaped with tall shrubbery, including an abundance of bamboo. The yard included shooting positions and yardage distance sticks and was enclosed by a chain-link fence. The sergeant, who was a 9-year veteran of law enforcement with 8 years on the SWAT Team, elected to be the first one to cross the locked gate of the fence. As the sergeant crossed the dark yard, his fellow officers heard him tell someone to “put that down.” There immediately followed a blast from a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, and the deputies lost sight of the sergeant. Shots were exchanged with the suspect, and a perimeter was established as the deputies shot the lock off the gate and retrieved the victim sergeant from the yard. The victim had sustained wounds from the buck pellets of the shotgun that struck his right torso, neck, and face. One of the pellets severed his aorta, and he died at the scene. Responding officers of the SWAT Team arrived on the scene and found the 56-year-old shooter dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
A 59-year-old reserve sergeant with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed shortly after he returned to his home in Winston-Salem on November 11. Just before 6:45 p.m., the 9-year veteran of law enforcement was returning home from the store with his grandson. As he turned onto the street on which he lived, a vehicle pulled behind him and followed him to his home. An armed man exited the vehicle that had followed them and confronted the officer and his grandson. A former resident of the neighborhood, the man, who had had previous property disputes with the residents, stated that he returned to the neighborhood to kill neighbors with whom he had previous conflicts. He informed the sergeant and his grandson that he had already killed two of his neighbors and he was now going to kill them. The sergeant drew the assailant’s attention to him and instructed his grandson to run to the house for safety. The grandson escaped from the situation and called for help. The 59-year-old suspect shot the sergeant with a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle, fatally wounding him in the front upper torso. A corporal with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office was alerted of the shooting and arrived within minutes. The suspect and corporal exchanged gunfire at close range, and both men were wounded. The 33-year-old corporal, who was wearing body armor, was shot in the torso area; the bullet entered through the armhole area of his vest. All three men were transported to the hospital, where the victim sergeant was pronounced dead. The suspect was arrested and charged with 3 counts of Murder and 1 count of Attempted Murder.
Just before 5 a.m. on October 14, a 29-year-old deputy sheriff with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was killed while investigating a suspicious circumstance. An apparently disabled vehicle was parked along a state highway near Waldo Township, and the veteran deputy, who had nearly 8 years of law enforcement experience, asked the dispatcher to contact a nearby gas station to learn if anyone had reported the abandoned vehicle. The gas station clerk informed the dispatcher, who, in turn, informed the officer, that two men had purchased gas a short time before and had left on foot. The deputy then spotted a man walking toward the vehicle and apparently had a conversation with him. The officer, who was wearing body armor, informed the dispatcher that he was going to give the man a ride to an apartment complex in Marion. The dispatcher ran a check on the information that the man had provided to the deputy and found that the man had given a false name and date of birth. The dispatcher tried to contact the officer numerous times via radio, cellular phone, and pager to warn him about the man, but none of the attempts to contact him were successful. At 5:03 a.m., the 911 center received a call from a citizen reporting that a marked sheriff’s cruiser had crashed and was lying on its top in a ravine. Investigating officers who responded to the call found the victim deputy in the wrecked cruiser with a single gunshot wound behind his right ear. The fatal shot had been fired from a 9 mm handgun. A 20-year-old male, a known user, dealer, and possessor of drugs, was arrested the next day and charged with Aggravated Murder. Investigators determined that the second man who had been present with the alleged assailant when he purchased gas at the service station had no involvement in the death of the victim officer.
At 1:45 a.m. on March 19, a supervisor with the First Judicial District (FJD) of Pennsylvania was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man in Philadelphia. The 53-year-old supervisor with 8½ years of law enforcement experience, an FJD investigator, and two officers with the FBI’s Philadelphia Violent Crimes/Fugitive Task Force went to the apartment of a man wanted on Rape and Drug Violations. The task force officers requested assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department, which sent two officers to the scene who covered the alley behind the apartment. One of the task force officers knocked on the apartment’s front door and indicated their identities to the occupants. Several seconds later, a woman inside the apartment opened the door and told the officers that the man they were looking for was in the bedroom. The officers entered the poorly lit apartment, and as the woman stepped into the kitchen, the man opened fire on the officers with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. One of the bullets struck the supervisor in the stomach below his protective vest, and he fell to the floor. Despite his injury, the supervisor was able to fire 15 shots, but apparently none of those shots hit the offender. As they backed out of the apartment along with the other task force officer, the investigator was shot in the stomach and one of the task force officers was struck in the left hand. The officers then heard two shots from inside the apartment. The task force officers attempted to come to the aid of the supervisor, but when they tried to reenter the apartment, the suspect opened fire on them again. They returned fire and shot the suspect in his back and leg. One of the officers called for backup from the Philadelphia Police Department and numerous officers, including the officers who had been covering the rear of the apartment building, swarmed to the front of the building. The suspect climbed out of a rear window in the apartment and broke into the apartment directly below. The responding officers searched the man’s apartment, but failed to find him. Philadelphia Police Department SWAT officers located a blood trail in the man’s apartment and followed it to the apartment below, where they found and arrested him. The FJD supervisor was taken to a local hospital where he died from two gunshot wounds to the back of his head. The 40-year-old suspect, who had a prior criminal record that included arrests for Murder, Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault, was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for his wounds. He was charged with First-Degree Murder, 3 counts of Attempted Murder, 3 counts of Aggravated Assault, and Firearms Violations.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on March 31, two deputy sheriffs with the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office were shot and killed in an ambush in the city of Gillett while they were attempting to serve a failure-to-appear warrant on a known drug dealer. The two deputies went to the home of the man’s father, which had an auto junkyard behind it and was located in a heavily wooded area, in an attempt to locate the subject. The deputies knocked on the front door of the residence, but no one answered. They then went around the house to the junkyard. The man, who had prior arrests that include Assault on a Police Officer and Weapons Violations, is believed to have hidden among the cars and fired 3 shots from a .38-caliber handgun at the deputies. The 36-year-old veteran deputy with 9 years of service in law enforcement was struck in the neck and died instantly. The 30-year-old deputy with 4½ years in law enforcement was mortally wounded in the stomach by a bullet that entered his protective vest between the side panels. The suspect’s father heard the gunshots and found the officers. The wounded officer was able to ask him to call for help. The father went to his house and telephoned the sheriff’s office to inform them that one officer was dead and another wounded. When the medical personnel arrived, they determined that both deputies were dead. Not being certain of the identity or location of the shooter, they retreated from the scene. When the backup officers arrived, they were unable to locate the suspect on the property or determine how he was traveling. Law enforcement personnel from Pennsylvania and New York launched a massive search involving hundreds of officers. The officers set up roadblocks, searched for the suspect from the air by helicopter, and looked for the man in the wooded areas using K-9 units and tactical teams. The next day, an officer in a helicopter spotted the suspect walking on a road a few miles from his father’s house. Officers on the ground took him into custody without further incident. The 27-year-old man was charged with two counts each of First-Degree Murder and Third-Degree Murder.
A 22-year-old agent with the Police of Puerto Rico, San Juan, was killed at 10 p.m., July 17 after responding to a report of gunfire at a store. One of several officers responding to the scene, the agent, with nearly 2 years of law enforcement experience, approached the store. However, one of the would-be robbers leaving the store fired a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, striking the agent, who was wearing a protective vest, in the torso and delivering a fatal shot to his face. An assisting agent, also 22 years old, was shot in the torso below his protective vest. The assisting agent, who had almost 1 year of experience in law enforcement, returned fire and shot and killed the 26-year-old assailant. A second offender, aged 21, was arrested at the scene and charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Weapons Violations, and Robbery. The assailants also allegedly killed the store’s owner in the incident.
On August 14 at 3 a.m., a 46-year-old agent with the Police of Puerto Rico, San Juan, was killed at a local restaurant owned by one of his friends. The off-duty officer, who had 27 years of law enforcement experience, was told that an armed individual had entered the restaurant, and the officer had challenged the man. A struggle ensued in which the assailant fired 13 shots with a 9 mm handgun, fatally striking the veteran agent at least once in the side of his head. During the struggle, the man disarmed the officer and fled the scene with the officer’s service weapon. The suspect remains at large.
A senior captain with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety was shot and killed on July 18 after being ambushed on his own property in Calhoun County. The 56-year-old veteran officer, who had more than 11 years of experience in law enforcement, left a visit with his father at 7:30 p.m. Upon reaching his property and entering his workshop, he was attacked by a man who used the officer’s .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle to shoot him three times in the back of the head, fatally wounding him, and six more times in the torso. The man then allegedly doused the officer’s body with diesel fuel and lit the fuel in an attempt to burn the body before leaving the scene in the slain officer’s pickup truck. The victim officer’s wife discovered his body in the workshop at 9:15 p.m. Three days later, police in Satellite Beach, Florida, stopped the suspect for reckless driving. The perpetrator, still in the victim officer’s truck and carrying one of the officer’s weapons, attempted to run before the police apprehended him. In the days before the attack on the senior captain, the suspect had allegedly stolen a vehicle in Virginia and killed a cashier at a gas station in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Earlier on the day of the incident, the man allegedly forced a driver from a vehicle at gunpoint in Columbia, South Carolina, before attempting to use a stolen credit card at a gas station about a mile from the victim officer’s property. Gas station attendants there alerted the local sheriff’s office to the man’s suspicious behavior, but when deputies arrived, the man fled on foot into woods behind the station. Though the woods, which were adjacent to the slain officer’s property, were searched by officers and K-9 units, the man was able to elude them. When the police initiated a search of the area, they located the suspect at a condominium building, where they subsequently cornered him in a hallway. After being confronted, the man surrendered and was taken into custody. Officials believe that though the officer was off duty, sensitive files and law enforcement equipment in the workshop and in the officer’s patrol car made the senior captain’s position with law enforcement apparent to the suspect. They concluded that the murder of the officer was directly related to his law enforcement affiliation. The 21-year-old suspect, a member of an anti-white, anti-law enforcement hate group, was charged with Capital Murder, Second-Degree Burglary, and Grand Larceny.
Approximately 8:30 a.m. on March 12, a deputy sheriff with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Department was shot and killed when he responded to a domestic violence call in which a juvenile had attacked his mother with a fence post. When the 24-year-old deputy, who had 3 years of law enforcement experience, arrived at the home in Lenoir City and exited his vehicle, the juvenile apparently shot him in the chest with a 7.62x39 mm semiautomatic rifle. Additional officers arrived at the scene and saw the victim officer lying on the ground. However, the suspect opened fire on them from inside the home, forcing the officers to retreat. Members of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department Extradition Team arrived and were able to retrieve the victim officer’s body. After 3 hours without any contact with the shooter, the officers sent a robot into the house to determine if there was any movement inside. The individual then exchanged gunfire with officers for about 30 seconds. Over the next 23 hours, officers deployed several canisters of tear gas and made numerous attempts to make contact with the suspect by public address system and by telephone. About 11 a.m. on March 13, a K-9 team entered the garage and listened for about an hour for any movement in the home. After hearing nothing, the team entered the house to clear each room. The team found the 16-year-old shooter, who had no known prior criminal record, in an upstairs bedroom dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
A veteran Jackson Police Department sergeant, with over 30 years of law enforcement experience, was shot and killed while in pursuit of a robbery suspect. The 52-year-old sergeant was assisting other officers in a vehicle pursuit of a man who allegedly mugged a shopper earlier on the day of June 17 in the parking lot of a nearby mall. It was around 9:30 in the morning when the pursuit ended as the suspect crashed his vehicle in the parking lot of a dry cleaning business. The suspect exited his wrecked car and fired at least two shots from a .32-caliber revolver into the passenger window of the sergeant’s patrol unit. The sergeant exited his vehicle; other officers on the scene realized that he had been shot in the lower stomach and provided assistance. The sergeant was transported to a nearby hospital where he died during surgery. Additional officers pursued the suspect who had fled the scene of the shooting on foot. During the course of the pursuit, the 20-year-old suspect was shot by pursuing officers. The suspect was transported to the hospital where he recovered from his wound and was subsequently charged with First-Degree Murder.
On November 27 at 9:30 p.m., a patrol officer with the Bristol Police Department was killed at a residence to which he was dispatched in response to a domestic disturbance call. According to the report, a man with a gun had been threatening people, including his girlfriend. An unidentified friend of the subject met the 30-year-old officer outside the residence and told him that there was no trouble inside the house. The officer, who had nearly 3 years of law enforcement experience, entered the split-level dwelling and ascended the steps that led to the living area. As he was nearing the top of the stairs, one of the two assisting officers who had just arrived at the scene approached the front door of the residence, glanced up, and saw an arm holding a gun appear from behind the left sidewall at the top of the stairs. The assisting officer saw the subject fire a .357 magnum revolver from his position at the top of the stairs. The fatal shot struck the victim officer in the face. Both assisting officers, who were still outside the dwelling, took cover—one in the front yard and the other behind a vehicle parked in the driveway. Moments later, a man exited the front door, and the officers ordered him to lie on the ground. A second man, who was later identified as the shooter, then exited, and the officers ordered him to lie on the ground. Three women followed, and the officers secured them as well. The alleged assailant, a 26-year-old man, who was on probation from prior criminal charges and who was a known drug dealer, surrendered to the officers without incident. They arrested and charged the man with First-Degree Murder. Other officers entered the house where they found the body of the victim officer at the top of the stairs; they recovered the gun used in the fatal shooting.
A 33-year-old senior patrol officer with the Huntington Police Department was shot and killed on March 13 shortly after 11:30 a.m. after stopping a motorist who was speeding. When the 10-year veteran officer learned that the driver was the subject of an active warrant for possession of a controlled substance, he approached the man to take him into custody. The man then exited his vehicle and shot the officer one time in his face with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The officer lost consciousness and dropped to the ground, whereupon the killer fired another round into his back. Before fleeing, the assailant attempted to disable the police in-car video system by firing into the monitor. Nevertheless, the video continued to run and recorded the entire incident. Local law enforcement pursued the killer to a house in Nacogdoches, where the 24-year-old man committed suicide by a gunshot to the head. The victim officer died 3 days later at an area hospital.
The Grand Prairie Police Department lost a veteran sergeant with over 29 years of experience about 8:45 on the morning of June 18 when he was shot and killed while aiding in the investigation of a suspicious circumstance. The 54-year-old sergeant had arrived as backup to an officer who had been dispatched to investigate a suspicious van idling in the parking lot of a local department store. When the sergeant arrived, the officer briefed him on the circumstances. As the officer was attempting to gain entrance to the van, an occupant called out and peered at the officer and the sergeant from behind a curtain blocking the cargo area of the van. The officer asked the occupant, who had identified himself as the owner, for identification and then moved to the side cargo door to open it. The 44-year-old officer heard the sergeant ask the occupant to come out of the van, and there immediately followed a gunshot. The officer, a veteran of 18 years of law enforcement, came around the van and saw the sergeant had been shot in the neck above his protective vest. He tried to assist the sergeant and called dispatch to report an officer down. The shooter then fired at the officer with the .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun and hit him in the chest, also above his body armor. The officer still managed to make his way to the front of the van and, using the engine as cover, fired his service pistol into the van through the windshield. The officer emptied the gun’s magazine and, observing further movement, fired several more shots into the van. The 42-year-old assailant was justifiably killed at the scene. The officer then made his way back to one of the cruisers and radioed for help a second time. The sergeant died from the wound to his neck. The officer recovered from a wound to the clavicle area of his chest and eventually returned to duty.
A 38-year-old patrol officer with the El Paso Police Department was shot and killed on September 25 shortly before 1 a.m., responding to three calls regarding a domestic disturbance/assault-in-progress incident. The calls had been made by a woman reporting that her husband had entered the house with the intent to assault her; she did not report he had a weapon. The responding officer, who had 1 month of law enforcement experience, heard a woman scream in the garage as he and his partner approached the residence in question. The two officers entered the garage through the partially opened overhead door and found a man and woman arguing. The man pulled a handgun out of his waistband and aimed the weapon at the officers. The assisting officer fired at the man with a taser but missed. The assailant fired two shots from a .38-caliber revolver as the officers exited the garage to seek cover. One shot missed the officers; however, the second shot struck the victim officer below his body armor in the upper left leg near the buttocks. Outside the garage, the victim patrol officer collapsed, and his partner dragged him to cover behind a parked vehicle. Additional officers arrived at the scene and located the alleged shooter, who was then unarmed and standing outside the garage. Although the man was belligerent and uncooperative, the officers eventually overpowered him. In the meantime, the victim officer was transported to a local medical center where he died from the gunshot wound. The bullet, which had severed a major artery, had glanced off a bone and caused additional internal damage. The 42-year-old alleged assailant, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the shooting, had a prior history of violent crimes, including police assault and weapons violations. Police arrested him and charged him with Capital Murder and Attempted Capital Murder.
A 12-year veteran police officer with the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department was shot on April 17 just before 11 p.m. when he intervened in an attempted robbery at a St. Croix fast-food establishment. The 45-year-old, off-duty officer was present at the restaurant when a man wearing a mask suddenly leaped across the counter. The officer drew his weapon, identified himself as a police officer, and ordered the man to freeze. Unknown to the officer, there was a second robber, who then shot him from behind. The officer managed to discharge his firearm before being shot several more times in the upper body with a semiautomatic handgun. The two men then fled the scene. The wounded officer was transported to an area hospital, then airlifted to a major medical center for treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries on April 26. On May 10, police arrested a 20-year-old male at his residence and charged him with First-Degree Murder, Carjacking, Possession of an Unlicensed Firearm, Interference with Commerce, and other federal and territorial violations. The suspect was on conditional release at the time of the incident. A second suspect, a 23-year-old male, was arrested on June 9 and charged with First-Degree Murder, Interference with Commerce, and other federal and territorial violations.
On July 30, a sergeant from the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, who had nearly 22 years of experience, was killed in a tactical situation after responding to a call regarding a domestic disturbance involving a gun. Deputies, who arrived at the residence near Vancouver shortly after 7 p.m., took up positions around the house and evacuated neighboring homes. The 49-year-old sergeant served as a supervising officer at the scene. The adult son of the suspect described him as suicidal and indicated that the man was in a house and had several firearms, though one shotgun had been taken from him. The suspect’s girlfriend and her son, along with several other people, were able to leave the residence unharmed. The responding deputies observed that the man was behaving erratically, removing an upstairs window screen, and then pointing a rifle out the window. A negotiator and SWAT team were called, but before they could reach the home, the man was observed crawling with a loaded rifle from the house to a pickup truck parked nearby. Shortly after 8 p.m., the suspect started the truck and drove through a fence, a neighbor’s yard, and a field to reach an adjacent roadway where the sergeant had moved his unmarked police car to block the area of traffic. The sergeant had parked his patrol vehicle on the gravel shoulder and was sitting in the vehicle with the emergency lights activated. Witnesses reported that the suspect aimed his truck at the driver’s door of the sergeant’s parked police car and intentionally accelerated and rammed the vehicle. Rescue workers transported the sergeant to a local hospital by a Lifeflight helicopter. Once there, he was pronounced dead due to trauma to the chest. The 43-year-old suspect, under the influence of alcohol during the incident, received minor injuries in the crash and was arrested and charged with First-Degree Murder and Vehicular Homicide. He had a history of a mental disorder and a criminal record.
A special agent with the Division of Criminal Investigation, Madison , Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), died November 5 from injuries he received as the target of an attempted armed robbery on October 29. The 34-year-old veteran officer had 12 years of experience in law enforcement, serving as a police officer with the city of Milwaukee for seven years prior to joining the DOJ. Assigned to the Narcotics Bureau at the time of the incident, the officer was on surveillance duty, wearing a sweatshirt with an agency logo, when at midnight , he stopped at a Milwaukee convenience store. After leaving the store, he was confronted in the parking lot by two men who had allegedly watched him enter the store and viewed him as a profitable robbery mark. The two men approached the agent, and one of them pointed a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at him as the other patted him down for weapons. The agent identified himself as a police officer, and the perpetrators discovered the agent’s service weapon. The man holding the handgun shot the agent twice at close range, striking him once in the abdomen, before the two subjects fled the scene. The agent was taken to a local hospital where he died from his wounds seven days later. Investigators apprehended the perpetrators on November 9. The 26-year-old offender who had fired the gun was charged with First-Degree Intentional Homicide, Attempted Robbery, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. A known drug dealer, he had a criminal record that included convictions for violent crimes, drugs, and weapons violations. The second offender, also a known drug dealer, was charged with Felony Murder. On probation at the time of the incident, the 19-year-old had a criminal record that included convictions as a juvenile, and convictions on drug charges and police assault charges.