Page:Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 2002.djvu/62

 person with a firearm at a local grocery store and gasoline station. The 28-year-old officer, who had more than 2 years of law enforcement experience, was dispatched to the scene where a clerk reported a male who was wielding a shotgun in the parking lot had shot a man. After securing the safety of several people at the scene, the officer saw the body of the victim on the ground between a gasoline pump and a pick-up truck. Reportedly, the suspect then opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun, striking the victim officer from a distance of 21-50 feet under the left arm, in the front below the waist, and fatally in the front upper torso, where a shot entered his body armor through the side panels. Before collapsing to the ground, the victim officer returned fire striking the suspect, who had taken cover inside a car, at least three times. The suspect, injured and still carrying the shotgun, exited the car and ran to evade police; however, he was apprehended by a police officer responding to the scene. Law enforcement personnel later found that the 30-year-old suspect had been picked up on a mental warrant a few weeks before the incident. The victim officer was flown to a Dallas hospital, but he died during surgery. The suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of Capital Murder.


 * UTAH

About 7:40 a.m. on November 18, a 39-year-old police officer with the West Jordan Police Department was shot and killed in an ambush. The officer, an 8-year veteran of law enforcement, responded to a call from a man who said his son had pulled a gun on him while they were at the home of his son's friend. The son had left the residence of the subdivision where the alleged incident occurred. When the officer arrived, the father pointed the officer in the direction he believed his son had left on foot. As the officer, who was wearing body armor, entered a park within the subdivision, the suspect, who was concealed by a fence, fired three shots from a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. One fatal shot struck the victim officer in the head. The suspect fled on foot, carjacked a van, and drove to another subdivision several miles away. After he was confronted by a detective, the 16-year-old suspect, with a criminal history that included Possession of Burglary Tools, Carrying a Loaded Firearm-Vehicle, and Assault-Risk of Bodily Injury, shot and killed himself with his own gun.


 * VIRGINIA

Shortly before 2:45 p.m. on May 17, a 43-year-old deputy with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office was killed along a highway near Danville during a traffic stop. Attempting to intervene in a domestic dispute, the deputy, who had nearly 3 years of law enforcement experience, had stopped two drivers along a highway. One driver was a woman; the other was her boyfriend, who was following her. The officer, who knew the man through a non-law enforcement relationship, was aware the pair were having domestic problems. The deputy spoke to the woman to assure she was unharmed. She asked the officer to serve a "Trespassing Notice" on her boyfriend, and the officer allowed her to leave. The officer apparently did not have a notice available, so he called for another unit to bring him the paperwork. It took an investigator about 3 minutes to arrive. At the scene, the investigator found the victim officer fatally wounded. The victim officer was wearing body armor; however, he was fatally shot once at close range in the side of the head. Investigators later determined the victim officer had been shot with a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The suspect had left the scene. Subsequent investigation led officers to the 23-year-old suspect's home where he was taken into custody later that day and charged with Capital Murder.


 * WASHINGTON

A deputy, aged 46, with the King County Sheriff's Office was killed during an investigation of a suspicious incident shortly after 5 p.m. on June 22 in Newcastle. The deputy, who had 7 years of experience in law enforcement, responded to a call about a naked man who was pounding on vehicles in traffic. Seeing the individual trying to forcibly board a bus, the deputy tried to calm the man, but he charged the officer. The deputy then sprayed the individual with Mace, but it had no effect on him. The two men struggled, and a passerby tried to assist the officer. The deputy and the naked man fell to the ground. As the deputy fell, his .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun came out of its holster. The man with whom the deputy was struggling picked up the gun and began shooting. The deputy started to run but was struck once in the hip area below his protective vest and fell to the ground. The 44-year-old suspect approached the officer and fatally shot him three times at close range in the back of the head. He fired an additional 13 rounds in the area and fled to his wife's nearby apartment. The suspect called King County dispatchers and surrendered almost immediately. Officials recovered the victim deputy's weapon in the apartment. The suspect, who was on probation and under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the incident, was arrested and charged with Aggravated Murder First Degree.


 * WISCONSIN

Two patrol officers with the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department were killed about 4:20 p.m. on July 22 in an ambush. Their shift had just begun, and they were sitting in their patrol vehicle parked along a highway in Hobart going over paperwork. A full-size pick-up truck veered to the left and accelerated to 70 mph, came across the center line, and hit the patrol car broadside. A 56-year-old officer with more than 32 years of law enforcement experience, and a 32-year-old officer with just over 3 years' law enforcement experience were killed instantly in the incident. Both were wearing body armor. The 27-year-old male driver, who was slightly injured, admitted to investigating officers that he intentionally rammed the officers' car deliberately killing the two officers. He was arrested the same day and charged with two counts of First-Degree Intentional Homicide.