Two officers shot, seriously injured outside Ferguson police department

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Police advocates: We worry about ambushes

St. Louis County Police, Missouri State Highway Patrol to assume command of Ferguson security detail, officials say

(CNN) —Two police officers shot and wounded while standing guard outside the Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department early Thursday were deliberately targeted in what a police official called an "ambush."

Such ambush-style attacks were the leading circumstance in the surging number of shooting deaths of law enforcement officers, according to the nonprofit, Washington-based National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The shootings were a chilling low point in the protests in the St. Louis suburb since a Ferguson police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August.

The demonstrators were out again late Wednesday -- in response to the announcement hours earlier of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson's resignation -- when shots rang out from a hill about 125 yards from where the protesters had gathered, according to witnesses.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shootings were an "ambush" intended "for whatever nefarious reason" to inflict harm on the officers. The officers -- one shot in the face, the other in the shoulder -- have been released from the hospital.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decried the shootings as a "heinous assault (that) was inexcusable and repugnant."

Calling the shooting a "cowardly action," Holder said, "I condemn violence against any public safety officials in the strongest terms, and the Department of Justice will never accept any threats or violence directed at those who serve and protect our communities."

'Very real dangers' officers face

The number of law enforcement officers shot to death in the line of duty rose more than 50% in 2014, the law enforcement group said in a report released in December.

Many of those shootings occurred during police interactions with suspects such as traffic stops, responses to disturbances or attempted arrests. Such was the case in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, when Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells was killed in an exchange of gunfire after going to arrest a fugitive murder suspect at a motel.

However, ambushes were the largest single category of circumstances in the shooting deaths of officers in 2014, according to the group's report.

Fifty officers were killed by firearms -- 15 in ambush attacks -- in 2014, the Memorial Fund said.

That's compared with five ambushes among 32 shooting deaths in 2013 and six ambush deaths during 2012, according to the FBI.

But those ambush numbers have trended higher before in previous years: The FBI counted 15 officer deaths by ambush each year in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Ambush situations were the biggest category of circumstance behind 543 officers feloniously killed from 2002 to 2011: 23.2%.

Ambush killings are nothing new. The FBI defines two types:

One is by "entrapment and premeditation," which is a scenario "where the officer was lured into danger as the result of conscious consideration and planning. These attacks are generally accomplished from cover or hiding; however, they can occur without cover or hiding," the agency said.

The second are ambushes of "unprovoked attacks," which are "generally accomplished without hiding; however, they can occur with or without cover," the FBI said.

Harry Houck, a consultant and former New York Police Department detective, said officers could be second-guessing themselves as scrutiny of the police increases.

"If an officer is afraid to immediately react the way he's supposed to," he said, "that could cost him his life."

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 2014 report, 126 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers died in the line of duty in 2014, compared with 102 and 123 the previous two years. Most of the on-duty deaths considered "non-felonious" were from traffic accidents or health reasons.

CNN has not analyzed each case and cannot authenticate the group's findings.

After the findings were released in December, Holder said: "These troubling statistics underscore the very real dangers that America's brave law enforcement officers face every time they put on their uniforms. Each loss is both tragic and unacceptable -- a beloved father, mother, son or daughter who never came home to their loved ones."

He said that the Department of Justice is doing its own analysis of officer deaths in 2014 "so we can mitigate risks in the future."

Memorial fund leader blames 'rhetoric'

The report's release came amid simmering distrust and tension between police and some communities across the country. It was published less than two weeks after the December 20 ambush killing of two New York City police officers.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, approached Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their marked patrol car in Brooklyn on December 20 and shot them to death. He killed himself shortly afterward.

The police memorial fund invoked the memories of Liu and Ramos' deaths in a December statement.

"With the increasing number of ambush-style attacks against our officers, I am deeply concerned that a growing anti-government sentiment in America is influencing weak-minded individuals to launch violent assaults against the men and women working to enforce our laws and keep our nation safe," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the police fund.

"Enough is enough," he said. "We need to tone down the rhetoric and rally in support of law enforcement and against lawlessness."

That angry rhetoric isn't confined to the case of Ferguson -- or of Staten Island, New York, where the death of Eric Garner in July after police attempted to subdue him spurred national protests and preceded the slayings of Liu and Ramos, said Steve Groeninger, a spokesman for the memorial fund.

Groeninger said the uptick in ambush-style attacks was "punctuated" by the New York officers' slayings, but there were other targeted attacks against law enforcement in 2014 that concern the fund.

They included:

• In Las Vegas in June, Jerad Miller and his wife surprised two police officers as they ate lunch, shooting them to death. Witnesses said the Millers placed a "Don't Tread on Me" flag and a swastika on one officer's body. The couple then died in a murder-suicide as police closed in.

• In Jersey City, New Jersey, in July, police said a man assaulted a Walgreen's security guard and took his gun in order to carry out the ambush-style killing of an officer, according to the Jersey Journal.

• Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers were ambushed and shot outside police barracks in Blooming Grove in September. The hunt for the alleged killer, Eric Frein, lasted almost seven weeks. He was captured at an abandoned airport on October 30. Frein was hit with terrorism charges in November for allegedly admitting that he shot the officers to change the government and "wake people up."

More shootings by police

But the number of shootings by police officers also is on the rise.

According to data collected by the FBI, there were 461 justifiable homicides in 2013 -- the highest level since 1994 and the most recent year available. The figures are incomplete, however, because the shootings are self-reported and not all police departments provide them.

The total number of fatal shootings by police officers is much higher -- 1,010 in 2013 and 1,134 last year, according to the nonprofit Fatal Encounters. The group started collecting the data in 2013. Its source of information is different from the FBI's.

The group's founder, Brian Burghart, said the figures create a toxic environment for police, as well as suspects.

"When it comes to an eye for an eye, that people are addressing the problems with violence, the numbers are always going to go up on both sides," he said.

This week, Wisconsin residents took to the streets to protest the police killing of Tony Robinson, a 19-year-old who was unarmed.

Robinson's shooting was the fourth involving an officer in Wisconsin in the last three weeks. The others hardly made headlines: One involved an armed robbery, another a domestic abuser who put a knife to his girlfriend's throat, and another involved an assailant with a fake gun.

Last April, Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manney shot Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill man, more than a dozen times. The officer said he opened fire when Hamilton grabbed his baton and struck him with it. Manney was not charged criminally. Instead, he was fired for not following protocol.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke on Fox News accused Holder and President Obama of "empty rhetoric" and fueling what he called "cop hatred."

"This war on our nation's finest, the American police officer, continues," Clarke said Thursday. "But it continues to be fueled by some very important people."

He added, "I think it's empty rhetoric, what Eric Holder offered today, and the President -- through a tweet, of all things -- when they have, now, an obligation to stand up and remind people in these urban ghettos, these American ghettos, that they have a responsibility to comply with law enforcement officer commands."

Experts say the numbers alone don't tell the whole story.

"We need to know the circumstances in each individual case," said Houck, the consultant and former New York Police Department detective.

http://www.wesh.com/national-news/ferguson-police-shot-ambush-tactics-on-rise/31757310

[decocker 7,198]

i'll preface this with: i don't condone violence towards cops or anyone else.

why were all the cops standing shoulder to shoulder near midnight? i read stuff like this

"But this is a very dangerous environment for our officers to work in."

and the first thing I think is - they were working? i thought they were protesting the chief getting put out on his butt.

the irony is that these cops don't see the connection between their poor leadership/policies and their dangerous work environment.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

They were quite careful with their shots. I think it was a trained person. The police force probably drew sticks to see who was going to take the hit. Good way to get sympathy from the public. lol

If it was someone hell bent on killing the officers, they would have shot at all of them.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I think everyone in Ferguson is just dismayed. The people can't trust the police anymore and the few good policemen in the force have no grounds upon which to stand thanks to their colleagues.

i'll preface this with: i don't condone violence towards cops or anyone else.

why were all the cops standing shoulder to shoulder near midnight? i read stuff like this

and the first thing I think is - they were working? i thought they were protesting the chief getting put out on his butt.

the irony is that these cops don't see the connection between their poor leadership/policies and their dangerous work environment.

My money is on gun for hire as well...

They were quite careful with their shots. I think it was a trained person. The police force probably drew sticks to see who was going to take the hit. Good way to get sympathy from the public. lol

If it was someone hell bent on killing the officers, they would have shot at all of them.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Just a few angry "hands-up-don't shoot" (aka, punks) who wanted to kill police. They didn't get the outcome they wanted in Ferguson, and continue their mantra of no justice, no peace. No big deal that these police officers were out to protect law abiding citizens and that their wives and children may never see their fathers work again.

Edited March 13, 2015 by xxClosedxx

[VOL 425]

They were quite careful with their shots. I think it was a trained person. The police force probably drew sticks to see who was going to take the hit. Good way to get sympathy from the public. lol

If it was someone hell bent on killing the officers, they would have shot at all of them.

You need to stop drinking the Kool Aid...........

Sound like something that would benefit those who'd like to see Ferguson go off like a roman candle... Perhaps a sniper hired by white supremacists to instigate more violence?

Put your cup of Kool Aid down too........

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Sheriff David Clark knows how law abiding citizens of Ferguson feel:

[JohnR! 5,495]

Nothing says punks and thugs like a peaceful protest... You send in a couple of agitators, muzzle flashes, start a flight and voi la, instant riot.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-usa-missouri-shooting-protest-idUSKBN0M80CJ20150313

PEACEFUL PROTEST

Activists, condemning the wounding of the officers, held a candle-light prayer vigil for peace in Ferguson late Thursday. About 100 people then held a boisterous but peaceful protest outside the police station in light rain.

The crowd blocked traffic at times but there were no arrests and the demonstration passed without incident.

In Thursday's shooting, a 41-year-old St. Louis County police officer suffered a shoulder wound and a 32-year-old colleague from the nearby Webster Groves Police Department sustained a facial wound that left a bullet lodged near his ear. Both were treated and released by a local hospital.

Crime Stoppers, a nationwide organization that works to prevent and solve crimes, has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the culprit, and two Missouri Congressmen have added $3,000.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a news conference on Thursday that muzzle flashes were detected about 125 yards (meters) away from the rally, where earlier fist-fights had broken out among some of those in the crowd.

[decocker 7,198]

I think everyone in Ferguson is just dismayed. The people can't trust the police anymore and the few good policemen in the force have no grounds upon which to stand thanks to their colleagues.

i think there is a definite attitude that ferguson police aren't actually employed to protect all of it's citizens and that attitude is somehow righteous. that premise compiled with the findings that the courts and cops were working hand in hand to generate revenue from their poorest citizens, the realization that some are considered second class citizens was completely reinforced.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

..

Edited March 13, 2015 by xxClosedxx

[Janelle2002 3,865]

You need to stop drinking the Kool Aid...........

Put your cup of Kool Aid down too........

I don't like kool aid.... too much sugar.

Are you saying corrupt cops don't exist?

[LibCampFireClub 635]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxp-jIv67i8

[Janelle2002 3,865]

This guy is dumber than a bucket of chicken. I noticed how people who think alike like to post videos from people with their same point of view.

[decocker 7,198]

i got koolaide pumping through my veins. assimilate with the purple stuff.

[LibCampFireClub 635]

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke tonight slammed the tweet that President Barack Obama posted following the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Mo.

Obama tweeted today:

Violence against police is unacceptable. Our prayers are with the officers in MO. Path to justice is one all of us must travel together. –bo

“That might score him point with hipsters, but it’s not going over real big with me and it’s not going over real big with the American law enforcement officer,” Clarke told Megyn Kelly.

“He took the lazy way out, he issued a tweet,” Clarke said of Obama. “He didn’t have the decency to put on a suit and go to the East Room or the Rose Garden and issue a heartfelt condemnation of what’s going on in these assaults against officers.”

Clarke said that “the assault on the American cop continues,” and he said it’s unfathomable that America has gotten to this point. Clarke explained that his biggest fear came true when Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio “trashed the reputation of an entire profession.”