New Details on "Assasination" of SPD Officer - Updated

By scott
(1 votes) (report abuse)
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SPDOfficermurdered110109docx.pdf

A press conference with the mayor and Seattle police commanders just concluded, identifying the deceased victim as 39 year old Timothy Brenton, a Police Training Officer and member of the Seattle police force for 8 years. He leaves behind a wife and two children, 8 and 11 years old. He has worked his entire SPD career here in the East Precinct.

Police are working with the family to schedule a memorial service and funeral for Officer Brenton, but no date is available yet. Police work ran strong in Brenton's family. His father and uncle are also retired members of the Seattle Police force.

The second victim, 33 year old police trainee Brit Sweeney, was grazed in the shooting and is now resting at her home. Assistant Chief Pugel said "it was a miracle that she survived" the incident. Only six to seven months out of the academy, her performance during the shooting was described as that of "a tenured veteran," as she "not only called for help and backup, called for the fire department, but also got out and fired at the suspects." 

One police commander described the incident as "an assassination", and this is the only time a Seattle officer has been killed in such a sudden, premeditated attack.

The officers began their shift at 7:30pm on Halloween night, and had previously made a routine traffic stop at about 9:30pm. Standard procedure calls for a trainee and trainer to discuss what went right and wrong after every operation, which is what they were doing a half hour later. They were sitting stationary just a bit after 10pm at 29th & Yesler with Officer Brenton in the passenger seat and Officer Sweeney behind the wheel when they detected a vehicle approach on their left. Officer Sweeney sensed danger, yelled, and ducked as gun fire erupted from the suspect vehicle, entering through the police cruiser's passenger window, killing Officer Brenton immediately.

An officer stands at attention outside the Bonney Watson funeral home on Capitol Hill


Police officers from around the region immediately streamed into the area looking for the suspect vehicle, described as a small gray or light colored car. They are now reviewing all video footage from multiple on-board police cameras to see if they can spot and identify that vehicle.

There were also multiple witnesses to the incident and its aftermath, and police detectives are working with all of them to gather additional information in the incident.

Police commanders said that there is no indication of specific threats or targeting of either officer involved in the shooting, but noted that police officers are "the most visible symbol of government" and can become a convenient target for violence.

There were reports last night that a man had been arrested who had made threats against police and had just been released from jail. Police commanders confirmed that they did contact him shortly after the shooting last night, but don't currently have any information to tie him to the crime.

A memorial is growing at 29th & Yesler where Officer Brenton was shot and killed


Crime Stoppers have put out a $20,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects responsible in the shooting.

Mayor Greg Nickels said that "we will not rest until we find these suspects," and that all flags on city property would be lowered to half staff in honor of the deceased victim. Chief Diaz further stated that "all resources we can find will be used to get the suspects who did this."

We'll continue to follow this story here on CDNews and at SeattleCrime.com and will bring you new details as they come.

5:05PM - A police procession just escorted Officer Brenton's body from Harborview to a funeral home on Bonney Watson. There was a full contingent of officers standing guard outside the funeral home, along with many other members of the Seattle Fire Department
6:12PM - Just added an SPD press release that recaps all of the information from today's press conference
tags: Homicide, Halloween Officer Murder + add tags
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location: Central AreaSeattle, Washington
posted on Sun, Nov 01, 2009 04:19 PM
last updated on Sun, Nov 01, 2009 06:15 PM
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Description? byDedavid3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
What, no description?
RE: Description? bysal3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
It may be they don't have a description. After all, it happened so quickly, and at night.
Sympathies and prayers.... byVince3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
I was there this afternoon to pay my respects. RIP Officer Brenton.
I will pray for you and your family.

I hope they catch the cowards who did this.

God bless.
What do we need to do to mount a truly forceful community response? byLarzipan Speedwreck3 months ago (4 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
This is horrible. It makes me sick and angry to think of the children and wife this man left behind. He gave his life to our community and we are now obligated to find a way to honor that sacrifice. Sure, it may sound trite, but it is absolutely true. What can we do as community to show that this is unacceptable and we will resist tolerating assaults on the fabric of our community? I'm not talking about more than a single march or night out against crime. Those approaches seem anemic and have little, if any, tangible results to speak of.

Do we institute high-visibility neighborhood patrols? Do we go door to door to tell our neighbors that failing to respond in a visible manner to this tragedy will only embolden these enemies of our community? Do we figure out a way to better liaise with the police community so that we function as another set of eyes and ears on the street? I really want suggestions -- these aren't rhetorical questions. I refuse to cede ground to the detritus of humanity that continues to defile and assault our neighborhood.
RE: What do we need to do to mount a truly forceful community response? byideas3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
How about getting to know each other, and our neighbors, better? Engaging with the kids and the old people in the neighborhood? Reaching out to the churches? How about a neighborhood Christmas tree or holiday party or gift drive? A neighborhood talent show at Garfield? Work days where we get people together to help old people with home projects? Townhall meetings?
RE: What do we need to do to mount a truly forceful community response? byeyes3 months ago (3 votes) (report abuse)
"Ideas" please do not insult our intelligence, or perhaps you are new to the neighborhood. This containment zone neighborhood has been allowed to fester for decades. Now this! The gangs and their friends and families need to be removed NOW and their property abated NOW. It is the past brazen acceptance of this area as a containment zone for crime that has produced this and driven decent people, specifically middle class people of color, from our neighborhoods. The senior management structure of the Seattle police have all worked in this area and know this well. The city has allowed to much to continue that has resulted in this hideous cowardly act of brazen ignorance.
Time for a paradigm shift long past due!
RE: What do we need to do to mount a truly forceful community response? byIdeas3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
So we shouldn't try to do anything to build neighborhood or community? We should just repeat cliches and wait for the city to do something? Well, I don't play the victim card well, and whining just isn't my thing. Plus, there's no money, so there's no cavalry to come to the rescue. This is ours to fix.

95% of this neighborhood are good people, and we want the same things, but stuff divides us: Economics, race, language, etc. Outside forces (drugs, sleazy absentee landlords, predatory merchants) compound the problem. We need to bridge these gaps somehow, and build a community based on trust and communication. That sounds dry and academic, but it's what works, and it begins with all of us doing stuff in the neighborhood, and getting to know each other.

The CD is a better place than it's been in forty years. Don't let this tragedy overshadow all the good things that have happened, and continue to happen.
Things we might do. byHeath Hunnicutt3 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Larzipan,

I fully agree with you -- in honor of Officer Brenton, we need to clean up our neighborhood.

My first thought is that we can literally clean up the neighborhood in ways which improve the lines of sight. Alleys and sidewalks should be clear of visual obstructions which hide everything from graffiti vandals to ditched murder weapons.

I know of a few 'crime hot spots' that we tolerate in the area that I live. There is a shooting gallery where junkies have been shooting up for years, there's a strange semi-abandoned commercial property which appears to be inhabited by squatters. Etc. All of these well-known trouble spots create a low-level call volume for the police, which keep the officers busy dealing with preventable stuff instead of backing each other up.

I agree with your idea about forming a community watch and I have some ideas about how we could create such a watch. I think a network of outdoor webcams might be the fastest way to build a winter-time watch for the neighborhood. Also, simply a volunteer network of watchers who can be paged during a major event such as last night's could be helpful.

My email is heathhunnicutt -aat- hotmail -dot- com.com.
Article about video cameras bysad neighbor3 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
I know that some Mt. Baker residents are pooling their money to buy private security. I have mixed feelings. I also have mixed feelings about cameras, but feel the neighborhood has tried a lot of things, and the troubles are still with us.

I googled "crime prevention camera," and this study came up, looking at the effectiveness of video surveillance in bringing down crime.

http://www.library.ca.gov/CRB/97/05/

Among the case studies:
"Tacoma, Washington

In 1993, Tacoma became the first city in the country to install a CCTV video surveillance system to address neighborhood crime in residential rather than commercial business districts. This unique approach to fighting residential crime was initiated by the neighborhood residents. "Before the cameras were put in, there were drug dealers selling drugs and prostitutes hooking anywhere they can hide; behind tresses, bushes, even under the steps of buildings," said one resident. According to a member of the Hilltop Action Coalition, an ethnically diverse community, residents organized a series of meetings with the police department and city officials and jointly decided that a video surveillance system should be pursued. The city promptly applied for and received a federal grant of $125,000 to install 3 pantilt\zoom cameras on neighborhood light poles.

Police officers monitor the cameras from a substation located near the area. If no identifiable crime is recorded, the tape is reused after a 24 hour period. According to Tacoma police, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of crimes in the Hilltop neighborhood. Crimes detected by cameras such as assaults, trespassing, prostitution and vandalism dropped from 244 reported incidents in 1993 to 87 in 1994, and 125 in 1995.63 Many of the drug dealers and prostitutes that once filled the street corners have left, having been arrested or seen their customers drift away.

The success of the Tacoma neighborhood system has led to development of a CCTV video surveillance system in the nearby community of Tukwila to combat robbers and prostitution. A recently installed 6 camera CCTV system covers an 8 block area. Police and trained volunteers monitor the images from a centrally located storefront as part of Tukwilla's community-policing program. Residents and local merchants support the high-tech strategy: "This is a very tough neighborhood, especially at night," said the manager of a Kentucky Fried Chicken store."
Officer Brenton byChaplain R Karjalainen3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
It is with profound sense of sadness that we lose a fine officer in any manner much less in this cowardly manner. Blessed are the peace-makers. My prayers of hope and grace go out to his lovely family. These cowardly animals will be found out, they will not be able to hide long, and then the strong right arm of judgement will descend upon them and will utterly destroy them. May the Lord of justice give wisdom and skill to the investigators.
God bless all those who serve us and protect us when we sleep in our beds, be with the third watch tonight as they lace up their boots and go out once again into the unknown night. V78 Chaplain ICSO
RE: Officer Brenton byRyan3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
amen.
More thoughts byLarzipan Speedwreck3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
@eyes: I firmly agree that community cohesion is a fundamental component of any successful response. Don't listen to "eyes"'s post (more on that, below). A lack of cohesion at a basic level -- familial -- probably has much to do with the violence we see in our neighborhoods. If families won't produce the cohesion we need, then the community must step in to produce this. Again, it is a matter of how and what do we do to make sure the cohesion is both visible to those who would exploit a lack of community cohesion, as well as being realistically durable.

@eyes: That's exactly what I expected to hear. A common, and pathetic, refrain by some on this blog. Do you understand where your logic leads? To victimization. To perpetuation. To abdicating responsibility for finding a solution. Instead of considering the possibility that there may actually be a solution that residues in each of our households, you blame the recurrent violence on ominous and unassailable concepts like "containment zones", "senior management structure", and "the city". It may give you palliative comfort to assign responsibility to a conspiracy-like effort to drive our neighborhood into the ground, but know that arguments like yours only further entrench our neighborhood in a cycle of degradation. I invite you to reconsider your viewpoint, and as I asked earlier, come to the table with ideas instead of accusations.

@Heathhunnicutt

Thank you for your considered and genuine response. I have reservations about video cameras. I believe this problem starts at a household level and therefore must end at a household level. The human factor is critical and is the most dissuasive to criminal activity. We, and our efforts, must be visible. Let's keep this dialogue going and come up with some strategies. Let me repeat that again: strategies -- not tactics. Again, your response was appreciated.
police activity at 27th & Yesler around 7:45am? bycanamian3 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
I was waiting for the bus this morning when two police cars pulled a u-turn in Yesler and pulled over a red subaru. Three more police cars showed up within a couple of minutes. Did you hear anything about this on the scanner, Scott? Just wondering if it might be related to the shooting of that police officer on Halloween.
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