Seattle cop shot dead in drive-by attack

[clearconscience]

I have a problem with government installing cameras, as they have in London.

However I am okay with private parties having security cameras, which law enforcement may obtain the videos from, with proper warrants of course.

+1
The gov't already has Satellites that can see if you changed your underwear why do they need cameras?
But in this case I couldn't be happier. I just wish they caught these guys alive, gave them a fair trial, and then did things to them that would give satan nightmares.

 

[shibbershabber]

then did things to them that would give satan nightmares.

now thats funny

 

[clearconscience]

May he rest in peace.


Somebody killed a Policeman today,
and a part of America died.
A piece of our country he swore to protect
will be buried with him at his side.
The beat that he walked was a battlefield too,
just as if he had gone off to war.
Though the flag of our nation won't fly at half mast
to his name they will add a gold star.
The suspect who shot him will stand up in court
with counsel demanding his rights.
While a young widowed mother must work for her kids
and spend many long lonely nights.
Yes, somebody killed a Policeman today
maybe in your town or mine.
While we slept in comfort behind our locked doors
a Cop put his life on the line.
Now his ghost walks the beat on a dark city street
and stands at each rookies side.
He answered the call, of himself he gave all,
and a piece of America died.

 

[Sun195]

Just saw <broken link removed> :

Sources: Suspect had studied law enforcement at UW
Former school advisor said man was 'natural leader'

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, ERIC NALDER , LEVI PULKKINEN and MICHELLE NICOLOSI
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

At one point he wanted to be a policeman. He studied law enforcement issues at a local community college and the University of Washington. A former advisor said he was a "natural leader," but a neighbor called him "weird."



The man Seattle detectives shot Friday afternoon outside a Tukwila apartment complex - who authorities said was a suspect in the Halloween night slaying of a Seattle police officer - is a 41-year-old man Christopher J. Monfort, law enforcement sources said.

He hasn't spent jail or prison time in Washington, and court records show two traffic infractions are the only marks on his state record. Monfort may have been recently laid off from a job as a security guard or private investigator, a Seattle police source familiar with the investigation said.

Seattle homicide detectives were at his Tukwila apartment complex, in the 13700 block of 56th Avenue South, since the morning, said Tukwila Officer Mike Murphy.

The detectives had gone there on a tip, a day after releasing three photos of a Datsun 210 believed to be connected to the shooting of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton and wounding of his partner, Britt Sweeney. Tukwila detectives also responded.

Three detectives confronted Monfort at the apartment complex later Friday afternoon. He turned and ran, then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police, King County Sheriff's Office Sgt. John Urquhart said.

"For some reason, it did not go off," Urquhart said. "I don't know if he tried to fire it."

Monfort allegedly then ran a short distance again, and had another confrontation before he was shot at least twice, police said.

Investigators did not say how many shots were fired.

According to a UW graduate school abstract, the title of a project Monfort presented in May 2007 was " The Power of Citizenship your Government doesn't want You to know about. How to change the inequity of the Criminal Justice System immediately, through Active Citizen Nullification of Laws, as a Juror."

In November 2003 Monfort ran for student government at Highline Community College, according to the student paper, The Thunderworld. Monfort was running to "make the student body more aware of the civil liberties lost under the Patriot Act,' " the article stated.

He resigned from the student Senate in May of 2004, according to minutes of a Highline Board of Trustees' meeting.

Wanted to be a policeman

He hankered to be a Los Angeles Police officer when he lived in the Pasadena, Calif., eighteen years ago, said Rosemary Stevens, who rented a room to him in her house. He was working as a waiter at a chain steakhouse in Pasadena, and seemed like a "know it all" type person, said Stevens, who works as an actress.

She said he couldn't get on the LAPD, "I think, because of a hiring freeze."

Monfort studied in the administration of justice program at Highline Community College about five years ago, said Garry Wegner, the program coordinator at the Highline program and the man's academic advisor.

Though students in that program tend to be interested in working as police officers or in corrections, Wegner said Monfort wasn't interested at that point in being a cop.

Wegner said the man told him he "wanted to make a difference" in society, and Wegner suggested he go to law school. On a Web site, Monfort described Wegner as his inspiration to enter a program at the University of Washington.

Older than the typical students in Wegner's program, "he was a mature, stable, fun guy to be around," said Wegner. "Very pleasant."

"He was very smart. Put a lot of attention into his work. Good academically. He seemed like a natural leader," Wegner said.

"He would check in with me from time to time to tell me how he was doing," Wegner said. "The last time I talked to him was four or five months ago. He indicated he wanted to be (study) history, with an emphasis in constitutional law. I told him I thought that would be a good thing for him to do."

He said he believed the man's mother lived in Wrangell, Alaska, but he didn't know anything about his father.

"I had high hopes for him to make some sort of constructive contribution," Wegner said.

Monfort's first Washington state court record is a ticket for a defective turn signal in 2007. The second, earlier this year, is for speeding at least 15 miles per hour over the limit. Both were in Snohomish County.

In both court cases, Monfort listed his address as an apartment at 13725 56th Avenue South - the same place where police said he was hit by at least two bullets Friday.

Police said Thursday they believed the shooter experienced a significant personal crisis in the recent past -- maybe the death of a loved one, a financial hardship or another failure. They said it might have related to his employment or position in life, investigators said.

"We do believe that although he shot a police officer, he may in fact admire them and even act like them," Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said Thursday. "He knows that there are very good officers, and officer Tim Brenton was a very good officer who swore a solemn oath to protect our citizenry."

A neighbor at the Tukwila apartment complex where Monfort lived said he "wasn't very talkative."

"I thought he was kind of strange," said Tangee Moses, 40. "I don't know if it was a quietness or what, he seemed to be really weird."

Besides the old hatchback car police say may have been used in the shooting, the suspect also occasionally drove a car that looked like a former police vehicle, said Jeffrey Moses, 49, the woman's husband.

The car had a spotlight on the driver's side, and was dark colored, the couple said. It looked like a Crown Victoria, the type of car typically driven by police.

The couple said the other car, the old hatchback, would leave the complex at varying times of the night and day. Jeffrey Moses said he first saw a cover on the hatchback about a week ago. He said he hadn't seen it before.

At 11:30 a.m. Friday, as Jeffrey Moses was leaving his apartment, he said he saw three police officers wearing dark-colored uniforms, similar to ones worn by Tukwila officers. He said they were lifting the cover slightly and looking at the blue-colored hatchback. That would have been hours before the shooting.

"Then it came to mind, wow, that could have been the car the police are looking for," Moses said.

Days ago, Tangee Moses said she had thought about her neighbor's car when she saw a description on TV of the car police suspected in the shooting.

"When I saw it, I thought, 'That looks like the neighbor's car,'" she said. But Moses didn't call police because she didn't seem sure enough.

Moses said she heard four shots around 3:15 p.m., and peeked out of the window. She saw police and heard someone yell something that seemed like a command to stay inside.

Friday night, all residents of the complex were evacuated after the Tukwila Fire Department arranged for buses to temporary housing.

Tangee Moses said her neighbor who was shot seemed very confident. He also played electric guitar -- sometimes too loud. Recently he was playing so loud Jeffrey Moses went to ask him to quiet down.

"He just sort of stared at me," the husband recalled. "'Music too loud, huh?' Moses recalled. "He did turn off the music."

Jeffrey Moses said he had seen the man with two other people, a man and a blond woman.

The shooting happened as police officers were still leaving KeyArena, where about thousands of people attended Brenton's 1 p.m. memorial.

Brenton, 39, spent his early childhood in Poulsbo and Woodinville. During his years at West Seattle High School, from which he graduated in 1988, Brenton joined the Seattle Police Explorers.

He joined the U.S. Army after high school and was a veteran of the first Gulf War. He told family members that one of the highlights of his life was being at the Berlin Wall when it came down.

Brenton met his wife, Lisa, in Spokane, and after graduating from Spokane Community College, he started his career in law enforcement. He worked in Hoquiam and La Conner before joining the Seattle department, following in his father's path.

"Being a police officer was all he wanted, it was his calling, and he loved his job," his family said in a statement released through police.

Survivors include Brenton's wife, an 11-year-old daughter, Kayleigh, and an 8-year-old son, Quinn.

 

[Sun195]

And, here's what the <broken link removed> :

Suspect shot as city mourns slain officer
By Seattle Times staff

While a massive memorial service for slain Officer Timothy Brenton neared its finish at KeyArena Friday afternoon, fellow officers with the Seattle Police Department shot a man they believe to be responsible for Brenton's death.

The shooting occurred in Tukwila at 2:50 p.m., about a half-hour before the memorial service concluded.

The suspect, 41, was shot in the head and taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz. The man was in critical condition Friday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Sources say the man is Christopher J. Monfort — a man who has lived in Alaska, California and Washington, compiling an enigmatic history, described by some as reserved, others as outgoing. Monfort's past includes stints as a volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union and employment as a security guard.

He apparently has no felony history.

In recent years he has been a student — first at Highline Community College, then at the University of Washington, where he was enrolled in a program aimed at helping minority students go on to graduate work.

Law-enforcement sources said Monfort is also suspected of the Oct. 22 bombing and arson of a Seattle maintenance yard, where three police cars and an RV used as a mobile precinct were damaged.

Before Monfort was identified, police found distinct evidence that leads them to believe the same person was involved in that crime and the Brenton shooting, sources said.

A note threatening to kill police officers was left at the bombing site, according to sources. One source described the note as containing a general threat against police officers.

Early Friday, Seattle and Tukwila police went to an apartment complex in the 13700 block of 56th Avenue South after receiving a tip about a car matching the description of the early 1980s Datsun 210 coupe seen near the site where Brenton was slain, said a source close to the investigation.

Police found a Datsun, draped with a car cover. They waited until a man approached the vehicle, said Tukwila police spokesman Mike Murphy.

King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said three detectives confronted the man in the complex's parking lot and asked to speak with him. The man ran away, bolting up an exterior staircase where he turned, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officers.

"For some reason, it didn't go off," said Urquhart.

The man then turned and ran again, with the detectives in close pursuit.

"They caught up to him after a relatively short distance, whereupon this individual turned again, presented the gun and was shot by the detectives," Urquhart said.

Police have since detained two other men, one at a bus stop near the apartment complex and another in Federal Way. The men may have ties to the wounded man and the apartment, a source said.

Monfort had recently been laid off from his job as a security guard, according to a source.

A Ford Crown Victoria sedan, a car often used as a police cruiser, was found parked near the covered Datsun. Investigators are looking into whether Monfort owned that car as well.

The person who tipped police to the Datsun said the man had only recently covered it and had been acting bizarrely, according to a law enforcement source.

UW graduate

Monfort received a bachelor's degree from the UW in March 2008, according to the university's degree-validation Web site. His major was in Law, Societies and Justice.

Last year, Monfort belonged to the McNair Scholars Program, part of the university's office of Minority Affairs and Diversity. The program aims to steep undergraduate students in sophisticated research, preparing them for graduate work.

Monfort provided this title for his project with the McNair program: "The Power of Citizenship Your Government Doesn't Want You to Know About: How to Change the Inequity of the Criminal Justice System Immediately, Through Active Citizen Nullification of Laws, As a Juror."

In an abstract of his project, Monfort said he planned to "illuminate and further" the scholarship of Paul Butler, a law professor at George Washington University. Butler is a proponent of jury nullification, a controversial principle whereby jurors feel free to disregard a judge's instructions and acquit a defendant no matter the strength of the evidence.

Butler has argued that such nullification may be particularly appropriate in cases where black defendants are charged with nonviolent crimes.

"It is the moral responsibility of black jurors to emancipate some guilty black outlaws," Butler wrote in a 1995 Yale Law Journal article, adding: "My goal is the subversion of American criminal justice, at least as it now exists."

In a McNair program newsletter, Monfort said he had previously been a student at Highline Community College, where he was "inspired" by Garry Wegner, who was the school's program coordinator for the Administration of Justice program.

Wegner said Friday that Monfort fared poorly the first time he attended the college. But he later returned to the Des Moines school and "caught fire academically."

"He did very, very well interacting with the other students in my class," said Wegner, who spent 20 years as the deputy director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, the organization that trains many of the state's law enforcement officers.

"He always seemed to be a natural leader, and people would gravitate to him. He put in a lot of work and did well academically. He said it was because he finally found something that interested him — the field of criminal justice."

Wegner, who described Monfort as "a mature, stable individual," said he was shocked to hear that his former student is the suspect in Brenton's slaying.

"You've shaken me to my toes," he told a Times reporter. "He's one of those people you thought would make a difference, a positive, constructive difference."

Monfort planned eventually to attend law school, Wegner said.

"I think he thought it was a position for anyone who wanted to be a catalyst for change," Wegner said.

During his last year at Highline, Monfort became involved in student government and was elected vice president of legislation, Wegner said.

The Oct. 23, 2003, edition of a Highline publication, The Thunderword, describes how Monfort ran for the school's student senate and spoke at a candidates' forum.

"Too often, too many of us walk around with our head in the clouds," Monfort said at the forum, according to the article.

The article said Monfort "believes he is unique, because he is upset about our current state of government and actually wants to do something about it. ... The student body has been cheated and lied to by the Bush Administration, said Monfort. He plans on putting together a petition to bring our soldiers home."

The article quoted Monfort saying: "Our freedom is under attack."

After Monfort left Highline, he stayed in touch with Wegner. The two men last spoke five or six months ago. At the time, Monfort was "driving truck" and volunteering at the Youth Services Center, teaching incarcerated youth about the criminal justice system.

"He was volunteering his Fridays down at juvy hall, trying to get kids on the straight and narrow," Wegner said. "He wanted to try and get them out of the system before they became adults."

In addition to law school, Monfort talked of possibly becoming a history professor, Wegner said. "He loved constitutional law, which is why I think he wanted to teach U.S. history."

More on the website....

 

[shibbershabber]

Monfort provided this title for his project with the McNair program: "The Power of Citizenship Your Government Doesn't Want You to Know About: How to Change the Inequity of the Criminal Justice System Immediately, Through Active Citizen Nullification of Laws, As a Juror."

I remember reading some of that online a while back when I was called for jury duty... weird.

 

[JUSTIficatioN]

they caught/shot the guy, also supposedly connected with an arson that involved a few northside precinct patrol cars ( well for than a few i guess). point is they got the B*stard!
my sympathies towards the family and friends of officer brenton.

 

[Benny503]

I am glad that they caught the killer.... but now I know for sure that there is a "big brother" out there.

 

[clearconscience]

How do you know there's big brother????
A cop got killed, you know they will exercise ever possiblilty to catch who ever did this. It police work, it's investigation. They did call in satellites from across the globe and start pulling cell phone calls out of the air.

I'm just glad the piece of trash is caught and experiencing pain.

I think we all know guys like this though, your local mall ninjas.
I got a guy that works at one of my locations who is the "chief of security" and just had a yellow siren put on his taurus. He wears a drop leg holster to carry his vitamin water. Dreams of being a cops and there's no chance.

He brags about saving people from being mugged and raped. I was like dude you work security for a gym parking garage. Tool.

 

[jordanvraptor]

Well, I was half right. They are calling this guy a "lone domestic terrorist" now. Hmm, I'll just call him an enemy, much simpler that way...

 

[clearconscience]

I have some names for this guy, but enemy isn't one of them.

I just wish people like this were easier to spot and more people kept an eye out for their neighbors.
In this day in age every other person you see on the streets is a dirtbag.

 

[Spray-n-pray]

I think we all know guys like this though, your local mall ninjas. I got a guy that works at one of my locations who is the "chief of security" and just had a yellow siren put on his taurus. He wears a drop leg holster to carry his vitamin water. Dreams of being a cops and there's no chance. He brags about saving people from being mugged and raped. I was like dude you work security for a gym parking garage. Tool.

Priceless!!! Mock him if you will, but next time your butt virginity is on the line, don't expect him to come to the rescue!!