Date set for trial of alleged Officer Brenton killer

The man who allegedly shot and killed Officer Timothy Brenton in Leschi Halloween night 2009 will face trial September 13, 2013, the Seattle Times reports. Christopher Monfort has been charged with the murder of Brenton and the attempted murder of Officer Britt Sweeney.

Monfort has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case. If the trial does start on the stated date, it will be nearly four years after the alleged murder.


Officer Brenton, a veteran of the force, was training Officer Sweeney that day. Monfort—who is also charged with firebombing police vehicles days before the Halloween shooting—allegedly pulled up next to Brenton and Sweeney’s police cruiser as it sat near 29th and Yesler and fired several rounds. Brenton was killed, and Sweeney was grazed.

The community has honored Officer Brenton with a memorial near the scene of the shooting.

After the shooting, Monfort was on the loose for nearly a week before officers confronted him in a Tukwila apartment complex. Monfort allegedly tried to shoot a pursuing officer, but his gun misfired. Officers shot him in the abdomen and face, but his injuries were not fatal.

8 thoughts on “Date set for trial of alleged Officer Brenton killer

  1. Hopefully death will be the sentence. This dude is a monster and doesn’t deserve to breathe.

  2. It is not an easy thing to decide, and I am glad I dont have to face that decision, however, I also dont feel that it is right or humane to imprison someone for their entire life without parole.

    When society is in danger from someone like this, and when history has shown there is no chance of rehabilitation, then there is only one alternative: Death. I hope this guy goes soon, I only wish the trial was this year not next, why are we waiting? and paying for this guy to live better than a great many people who actually deserve a good living just to wait for his trial.

  3. Im not condoning what Monfort did at all, he should be punished severely.
    That being said, he is up for the death penalty, while the officers that killed John T Williams, Oscar Grant, Amadou Diallo, etc, etc, etc, dont see a day in prison. I understand you have to have strict penalties because police are the authority, but I still dont agree.

  4. Monfort should be allowed to live out his live as an example of how wrong you can be.

  5. You’re far more humane than I. A friend of mine was executed while working in a restaurant full of people. It was some stupid gang initiation or something. Since it was in Iowa, and they don’t have the death penalty there, the killer got life without parole.

    The guy who killed her was only 19, and the girl he killed was 21. I hope he lives a long life, in a small cell, with no one to interact with except the guards and his 15 minutes a day of outdoor time. I hope he outlives her parents, her three siblings, myself, and everyone else who loved that girl. I hope that every day is a day of bitter regret for him – or, if nothing else, a day of extreme boredom.