Page:Law Enforcement Officers 1996.pdf/57

This page needs to be proofread.

weapon but fell to the floor. The assailant exited the bar, reloaded his .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun, and returned to continue firing into the prone body of the victim officer who was shot a total of 12 times. A 22-year-old suspect was arrested the same day and charged with Aggravated Murder. He has subsequently been convicted. At approximately 3:20 p.m. on May 23, an off-duty officer with the Dayton Police Department was shot and killed as he was reporting for work. The 25-year-old victim officer, with almost 4 months’ law enforcement experience, and another off-duty officer were about to enter their district headquarters when they were approached from behind by a male who made a sound at them. As the officers turned toward him, he opened fire with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Initially hitting the victim officer in the hand and knocking him to the ground, the assailant then shot the second officer in the face, knocking him down also. He then leaned over the first officer, who was wearing body armor, and shot him in the head. Fellow officers, responding to the gunfire, shot and killed the 24-year-old assailant. Prior to the confrontation with the officers, the man, while at his family’s store, shot and killed a delivery man. He then drove the victim’s truck to the police parking lot. Investigation has failed to produce a motive for the attacks. The second officer has recovered and returned to duty. A 24-year-old patrol officer with the Canton Police Department was fatally shot at approximately 6:15 a.m. on July 20 as he tried to apprehend a burglary suspect. The officer, with 1 year of law enforcement experience, was answering a call for assistance in the investigation of a burglary occurring at a city impound lot. The victim officer and his partner were on foot beside railroad tracks near the lot when they spotted a male running toward them on the tracks. The victim officer tried to apprehend the suspect, but the man allegedly produced a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and

52

fired two shots, striking the officer once in the neck just above his protective armor. Four more shots were fired at the victim officer’s partner, who returned fire, striking the alleged assailant in the thigh. The 22-year-old suspect then surrendered, was arrested, and charged with Aggravated Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, and Attempted Aggravated Murder. The fallen officer was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his wound 2 days later. A 47-year-old patrol officer with the Cleveland Police Department was shot and killed at approximately 2 a.m. on December 30 while attempting to stop a stolen vehicle. While on patrol, the 8-year veteran officer and his partner observed a vehicle with a punched out trunk lock and ran the plates. When they received information that the plates were stolen, they turned on their patrol vehicle’s lights and siren to signal the driver to pull the car over. After stopping for a moment, the man drove off and a low-speed pursuit ensued, with other police cars joining in the chase. In an attempt to make a right turn during the chase, the driver wrecked the car, driving over a curb and hitting a building. As the victim officer and his partner exited their cruiser, the man allegedly began firing from his vehicle with a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle. The victim officer was fatally wounded in the front upper torso and below the waist. His alleged assailant was then hit by return fire from other officers on the scene. The 37-year-old male, who was arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment, was subsequently charged with Aggravated Murder. OKLAHOMA At approximately 9:45 in the evening of June 10, a 45-year-old senior police officer with the Tulsa Police Department K-9 Patrol was mortally wounded while investigating an armed robbery of a restaurant. The 18-year veteran officer, along with a fellow officer and a police dog, was searching a nearby alley for