Monday, January 3, 2011

Our Officers Are Dying At An Alarming Rate

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During 2010 the instance of police officers dying in the line of duty was up 37% from 2009 and previous years. This is not a stat to be proud of for sure. Our police are out in force daily defending us, helping us in times of need and put their life in the line of fire to protect innocent people from the vile among us who have no regard for human life. And sadly, police departments and sheriffs’ offices across the country are having to ‘downsize’ due to financial cutbacks.


Cop killings from the last week of 2010:

On December 26, 2010 in Woburn, Mass, Officer John Maguire was chasing two robbery suspects when he was shot four times. The suspect who fired the fatal shot, Dominic Cinelli, was also shot and killed. Two other suspects, the other robber and the getaway driver were apprehended later and charged accordingly. Officer Maguire was 60 and planned to retire in a year.

Monday, December 27, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia, Trooper Chadwick LeCroy pulled over a car with its headlight out and exited his vehicle. The driver, Gregory Favors sped away and Trooper LeCroy gave a chase. Favors hit a mailbox during the chase and Trooper LeCroy approached the vehicle. As the Trooper reached the driver’s window, Favors fired a gun and shot him in the neck. Favors then left his vehicle with the gun still in his hand and tried to free the mailbox from his car but didn’t succeed. He then took Trooper LeCroy’s police unit and left the scene.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010, Officer Jillian Michelle Smith a 24-year-old policewoman was shot and killed. Officer Smith died protecting a 11-year-old girl from the shooter. The young girl survived but the shooter killed himself after shooting Officer Smith and Kimberly Carter. Officer Smith had gone to the apartment to take a report of domestic violence. The killer wasn’t there when she arrived but came back with the gun a few minutes after she arrived.

The First officer to die in 2011:

On January 1, 2011, I read of yet another officer dying in the line of duty and of a second officer being wounded. Reading those articles is not how I wanted to start my year.

Deputy Sheriff Suzanne Hopper was sent to a campground in Enon, Ohio to investigate a reporting of shots fired. Deputy Hopper noticed a camp trailer with a window shot out and discovered footprints. She was about to take photographs of the scene and footprints when gunfire erupted. Deputy Hopper died at the scene. A policeman, Officer Jeremy Blum, also at the scene, was hit in the shoulder by a shotgun blast. During the gun battle the shooter, Michael Ferryman was killed.

The shooters in the murders (and it was murder) of Officer Jillian Smith and Trooper Chadwick LeCroy had previous run-ins with the law. They had released Trooper LeCroy’s killer, Gregory Favors, from jail a short two weeks prior to the murder. He had 18 previous arrests. He’s in jail now, and charged with murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. When located, Mr. Favors was still wearing the same clothing he’d worn when killing Trooper Chadwick. He also had blood on his hands but explained it away by saying it was a fight with his girlfriend. I don’t think he’ll bond out this time. I certainly hope not anyway. I was angry that he’d use intimate partner violence as his excuse for blood on his hands! Officer Smith’s murderer, Barnes Samuel Nettles, had a previous violent episode of assault. He’d allegedly assaulted Kimberly Deshay Carter's sister and her mother in September and was out on bail when he murdered Kimberly and Officer Smith. He’d also allegedly phone harassed Miss Carter in August of 2010. Had Mr. Carter not been allowed to bond out on the assault charge, he’d not been able to return to the scene of another incident of domestic violence and murder two people.

Dominic Cinelli, the murderer of Officer John Maguire, died from a gunshot wound. Officer Maguire was shot four times during the foot chase to apprehend him. Scott Hanwright, Kevin Dingwell and Cinelli had allegedly robbed a Kohl’s Department Store. Dingwell was their getaway driver. Hanwright is charged with first-degree murder and Dingwell with accessory after the fact. Seems to me, Dingwell should not have the luxury of bonding out, but he has a very small bond set on him. Hanwright is being held without a bond. I am not aware at this time if Cinelli or his alleged coconspirators had previous arrest.

The murderer of Deputy Suzanne Hopper, Michael Ferryman, was killed at the scene. According to the news, it was stated he had a history with the sheriff's office. What that history is, I am unaware and do not know why he shot windows out the camper or opened fire on Deputy Hopper and Officer Blum. But I do know it’s frustrating that someone would commit such a senseless and deliberate cold-blooded murder. Since the gun battle and ensuing death and injury of Officer Blum, eight officers are on leave while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation is investigating the shootings.

It’s sad that any officer dies on the job. Every time a police officer clocks in on duty, each traffic stop, each crime scene they respond to, each call they’re sent on, our officers are putting their life on the line. I’d call all the deceased officers and Officer Blum heroes. But I doubt if they’d consider themselves heroes. They’d likely say they were just doing their job, nothing more.

Officer Jillian Smith was the last officer killed in the line of duty in 2010 and Deputy Suzanne Hopper was the first officer killed in 2011. Sadly, before we celebrate another New Year, we will read of many more officers wounded or killed while on the job.

7 comments:

  1. http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/01/03/story-enon-deputy-shot-killed-gunman-identified.html?sid=102
    According to the above article-
    A police report obtained by 10TV News indicated that deputies were called to the same address where Saturday's shooting took place in May 2009 after a man reported that Ferryman had pulled a knife on him.

    No one was injured and the man chose not to press charges, 10TV News reported.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a shame this man was released from a mental facilty in 2005. If the above link is correct, he was still a violent man. I guess no one bothered to keep an eye on his activities or to see if he was on or taking meds. Back in 2001 Mr. Ferryman was in a 26 hour stand-off with LE in Morgan County. Shots were fired then also. He was sent to a mental facility but released iin 2005.

    Thank You 10tv for keeping the public apprised of the information on Deputy Hopper's murder.


    For a lot of information on Ferryman use this link.
    http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/01/03/story-enon-clark-county-deputy-slain.html?sid=102

    TigressPen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Come to discover, Officer Maguire's killer also has a lengthy criminal history. Cinelli was sentenced to life in prison and later received two concurrent life sentences for crimes he'd committed. He was paroled in 2008.

    He told the parole board he had turned his life around and expressed remorse for his crimes. Yep. The good little man really turned his life around by committing murder. Officer Maguire was shot 4 times!

    TigressPen

    ReplyDelete
  4. The first week of January 2011 has yet to pass and we have 3 officers shot with one of the 3 killed.

    Yesterday, Jan. 3 2011, in Northglenn, Colorado, Police went to the home of Matthew Anderson to serve a warrant. Anderson is a sex offender and was suspect in an attempted internet hire for sex of a 13 year-old girl. When they arrived, Anderson did not answer the door so they breached the door and was met with a hail of gunfire.

    Police officer Dennis Alps was hit in the arm with a bullet and it's believed another shot hit his body armor in the chest area. Thankfully, Officer Alps survived his wounds but hours later, after the home was surrounded and many attempts to contact Anderson the police sent in robot and discovered Anderson dead in an upstairs bedroom.

    Allegedly his house was in foreclosure and he had no utilities.

    To read of this shooting go to: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26358579/detail.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. In 1985 Cinelli robbed a jewelry store and a guard was shot. He didn't turn his life around in the 24 years in prison as he claimed. And he was not remorseful for his crimes. 3 consecutive life sentences should not mean out in 24 years to rob a Kohl's store and murder a police officer! One life sentence should be mandatory 40 years in all states. Consecutive means 'One after the other'! His parole means he spent only 8 years for each 'life sentence.' And people aren't suppose to rush to judgement against parole board? I feel, they did when he stood before them to ask for parole.

    I wish the family of Officer Maguire success in changing parole laws with Melissa's Bill!

    ReplyDelete
  6. During the first week of 2011

    there has been one officer killed:
    Officer Hopper of ENON, Ohio

    3 officers shot:

    Officer Blum of ENON, Ohio was injured in shoulder by same person who killed Deputy Hopper

    Officer Alps of Northglenn, Colorado was shot in arm plus another shot hit his vest in chest area.

    Officer Blaney of Ashtabula, ohio was shot once in the chest- his vest saved his life.

    Also 1 hit by a vehicle:

    Officer J. Reeser of Colorado Springs, Co. was twice hit by a car Monday that was reported stolen. Officer Reeser has abrasions but nothing serious

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think it's tremendously sad so many officers are attacked. And it's equally sad so many are hurt in police chases of suspects that refuse to stop. Before week one of 2011 ended, two officers were dead and several others were hurt in shootings and accidents during a chase.

    Other than the officers mentioned above, Police Chief Ralph Painter was killed on Jan. 5 2011 in Rainer, Oregon.

    Officer Ron Brown of Wadesboro, N.C.was injured during a chase. The suspect drove off when Officer Brown left his vehicle after pulling him over. The suspect, Darrel Adam Mannis later crashed also. He and his passenger were apprehended.

    And, since that first week of the year ended, the attacks on officers continued. These men and women are doing a job, a public service to protect the innocent among us. Yes. We do have bad cops in PD and SO offices all across this country but the majority of our police are good men and women who became officers and perform their duty for all the right reasons.

    I can not list all the names of officers injured and killed throughout the year, but I do send my sincere condolences to all family and friends of each one.

    ReplyDelete