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 returned fire, mortally wounding the assailant. The victim officer was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His 20-year-old assailant was also taken to a hospital where he died later that day. MINNESOTA On January 29 about 9:15 p.m., a St. Joseph Police Department patrol officer was fatally wounded as he attempted to question the driver of a pickup truck matching the description of a vehicle involved earlier in an armed robbery. Prior to the stop, the 25-yearold officer, with more than 2 years’ law enforcement service, had communicated with the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher that he was following and intended to stop a vehicle with three occupants. The dispatcher requested a registration check, but the officer reported the license plate was “snow covered.” After stopping the pickup, the officer exited his cruiser, approached the vehicle, and asked the driver for identification. The driver, however, reached down, pulled out a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun, and fired five shots at the officer, wounding him in the head, neck, and front below the level of his vest. Two bullets fired at his chest failed to penetrate his body armor. After shooting the officer, the driver and two other suspects fled the scene and eventually abandoned their vehicle and separated. The suspect driver then broke into two homes, kidnaped an individual, and forced him to drive through a police roadblock. The driver then shoved the kidnap victim into the vehicle’s trunk. He continued driving until he was confronted by a Benton County Sheriff’s Office patrol car. Exiting the vehicle, the 26-yearold suspect refused commands to drop his weapon and was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff. Police apprehended the two other suspects, aged 19 and 27, shortly after the shooting. They have been charged with FirstDegree Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Kidnaping, Auto Theft, Burglary, and Criminal Damage to Property. The victim officer was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

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On May 3 at approximately 1:10 p.m., a Rice County deputy sheriff investigator was struck and killed during a high-speed traffic chase. The deputy, with 9 years’ law enforcement experience, was assisting Scott County deputies who were in pursuit of a juvenile driving a stolen vehicle in a 35-mile, high-speed chase down an interstate highway. Positioning his unmarked car across the off-ramp of the interstate, the victim deputy partially blocked the exit. With the deputies in pursuit, the youth exited the highway. Even though he had room to maneuver his vehicle around the victim deputy’s car, he allegedly drove directly into it at a speed of about 90 miles per hour. The 40-year-old deputy was killed instantly. The 17-year-old male was treated for minor injuries and was subsequently charged with First-Degree Murder. MISSOURI On November 27 at approximately 10 p.m., a deputy sheriff with the Barry County Sheriff’s Office was killed when responding to a suspicious vehicle report. The 29-year-old deputy, who had nearly 3 years of law enforcement experience, was dispatched to a rural residence to investigate an unknown vehicle parked in the driveway. Evidence suggests that as he radioed dispatch reporting his arrival at the residence, the deputy was killed by a single shot to the forehead from a .38-caliber revolver fired at close range through his open car door. The victim officer, who was wearing body armor, had not exited his vehicle at the time he was shot. A 56-year-old male who had several prior arrests for assault and was on probation for assault at the time of the incident was arrested at the scene by a backup officer and charged the following day with First-Degree Murder. NEW YORK At approximately 10 p.m. on March 14, an officer with nearly 4 years’ law enforcement experience with the New York City Police