Page:Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2002.djvu/56

 A 26-year-old patrol officer with the Hazel Park Police Department was shot and killed about 9:15 p.m. on July 28 while answering a disturbance call concerning an unleashed dog. As the officer, with 2 years of law enforcement experience, approached the residence, she encountered a man armed with a pump shotgun and immediately radioed for assistance. When responding officers arrived, they found the victim officer lying in the yard with a fatal wound to the throat, well above her protective armor. The officer was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m. The 42-year-old suspect, who was under the influence of alcohol, was also lying in the yard with a gunshot wound to the abdomen from a single shot fired by the officer. The suspect was arrested and charged with Murder of Police Officer, Premeditated Murder, and Felony Firearm.

A Detroit police officer with 5 years of law enforcement experience was fatally shot in the head at 2:40 a.m. on August 11 while investigating suspicious persons. The plain clothed officer was investigating individuals who were allegedly gambling in front of a residence. He was wearing body armor and was bent over trying to handcuff an individual for illegally carrying a pistol when another person shot the officer at close range in the back of the head with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. The 31 -year-old officer was taken to a local hospital where he died at 12:30 p.m. that day. The alleged shooter turned himself in to police the same day and was charged with Second-Degree Murder and Felony Firearms. The 27-year-old male had been arrested previously on charges of Felony Homicide-Manslaughter-Involuntary and Felony Weapons Felony Firearms.

MINNESOTA A 35-year-old officer with the Minneapolis Police Department was shot and killed on August 1 while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The incident began shortly before 6 p.m. when police received a complaint that a woman was threatening a relative with a gun. Officers who responded to the residence learned that the suspect had fled the scene in her aunt's vehicle. Investigators broadcast the vehicle's description and the suspect's address to officers on the street. The victim officer, a 7-year veteran, and a back-up officer went to the address and found a female sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle in question. The two officers searched the woman but found no weapon. The woman then asked permission to use a public restroom in her apartment building. The officers accompanied the suspect into the bathroom. While in the bathroom stall, the suspect apparently retrieved a small .38-caliber revolver from between her buttocks and emerged from the stall firing the gun. One round hit the victim officer in the front lower torso, below her protective vest. The wounded officer was able to fire three shots, all of which hit the 60-year-old shooter, killing her. The police officer was transported to an area hospital, but she died on the operating table.

MISSISSIPPI A 42-year-old patrol officer with the Moss Point Police Department died about 11:45 p.m. on October 17 when the vehicle of a fleeing subject struck his patrol car. The patrol officer, who had over 21 years' law enforcement experience, had answered a radio request for assistance from an officer in pursuit of a suspect traveling the wrong way on a divided highway. After establishing a road block in the suspect's path with his patrol car, the veteran officer attempted to exit the vehicle; however, the suspect allegedly rammed into the patrol car with his vehicle. Upon impact, the victim officer was ejected from the patrol unit and was thrown over the median divider into the opposite lane of the highway. He suffered fatal injuries to the front of the head, as well as to his neck and upper torso. Responding emergency medical technicians pronounced the victim officer dead at the scene. Though the suspect attempted to flee on foot, the first responding officer apprehended and arrested the man a short distance from the scene of the incident. The 26-year-old male, who was on probation for a previous arrest of Aggravated Assault, was charged with Capital Murder.

MISSOURI On December 9 at 12:05 p.m., a 48-year-old detective with the Dent County Sheriff's Department was shot to death while attempting an arrest. Responding to a report of a double homicide at a residence in a rural area of the county, the veteran detective, with 10 years of law enforcement experience, and the sheriff arrived at the suspected killer's residence. A witness to the murders had identified the man but had provided incorrect information concerning his vehicle. Although the officers did not see the described vehicle at the residence, they approached the home. A woman, later identified as the suspect's girlfriend, opened the door and spoke to the officers. As the officers continued walking toward the residence, the suspect allegedly stepped to the door with a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun hidden behind his back. When the detective was within 10 feet of the door, the assailant fired at least three shots, striking the victim officer in her abdomen and fatally on the left rear side of her head. The sheriff received a superficial wound to the abdomen, but he was able to draw his service weapon and return fire, striking the suspect in the left side of his face and his left leg. The suspect's girlfriend was shot twice as she and the suspect retreated into the residence. The man exchanged gunfire with other officers who arrived to assist, but he surrendered a short time later. The victim detective was airlifted to a local hospital where she died about 4 a.m. the next day. Both the 53-year-old male and his girlfriend recovered from their injuries. The man previously had been arrested for Possession/Sales of Dangerous Drugs, DWI/Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon. He had a prior law enforcement relationship with the victim officer and was also known to be a user of a controlled substance and was under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the incident. He was charged with three counts of First-Degree Murder, four counts of Armed Criminal Action, Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer, and Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. 50