Page:Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted 1997.pdf/45



ALABAMA

A 30-year-old corporal with the Montgomery Police Department was killed in an unprovoked attack on September 24 at approximately 1 p.m. Following his lunch break, the corporal, with over 9 years’ law enforcement experience, resumed duty in his patrol vehicle. Unknown to the corporal, a shooting between a suspect on probation and a bail bondsman had just occurred at a nearby intersection. As the alleged shooter fled the area, he happened to see the corporal sitting in the patrol vehicle. The male approached the police cruiser and, without warning, began firing into the vehicle with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, striking the corporal multiple times in the upper torso area from his throat to his stomach. Though the victim corporal was able to return fire and hit the offender, whom he reportedly knew through prior law enforcement encounters, he died of a bullet wound that entered his body between the side panels of his protective vest. The alleged assailant, who had a history of previous drug and theft-related charges, fled the scene in an effort to elude pursuing officers but was later apprehended after being wounded in an exchange of gunfire. A 20-year-old male has been charged with Capital Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer.

The captain of the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed just after 11 a.m. on October 10 near Rainbow City. The 46-year-old captain, who had recently been appointed commander of the Etowah County Drug/Major Crime Task Force, was attempting to serve a narcotics search warrant with other members of the Task Force. As the officers tried to gain entry into the residence, the suspect allegedly opened fire with a 7.62 x 39 mm semiautomatic rifle. The veteran officer, with 25 years’ law enforcement experience, was shot 14 times with the fatal round striking him in the front upper torso. During the gunfire, three other officers, one each from the Altoona Department of Public Safety, the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rainbow City Police Department, were injured. Exiting the residence, the gunman allegedly continued to fire on the downed officers. However, he was subsequently wounded and taken into custody. The 50-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with Capital Murder and Drug Trafficking. A female, who allegedly assisted the suspect in the attack by handing him ammunition and backing him up, was also arrested and charged with Murder.

ALASKA

On January 10 at approximately 10:10 p.m., a 21-year veteran with the Alaska State Troopers was slain when he attempted to arrest a suspect who was driving a stolen taxicab. The 42-year-old trooper, who was on patrol duty near the town of Glennallen, received radio information of a taxicab stolen in the Anchorage area. The only on-duty law officer within 100 miles, he spotted the taxicab and began a pursuit. When it became apparent that the vehicle was not going to stop, he asked his dispatcher to request assistance from an off-duty trooper. Shortly thereafter, the victim trooper advised dispatch that the taxi had left the roadway and overturned and that he was going after the driver. Nothing more was heard from him. Twenty minutes later, the backup trooper arrived at the scene and found the body of the victim trooper. Scene investigations revealed that a struggle had occurred during which the victim trooper had been strangled or suffocated. He had been wearing a protective vest. The assisting officer soon located a man wearing one handcuff and arrested him without further incident. The 41