Showing posts with label killed in the line of duty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label killed in the line of duty. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

What was God doing on 9 11?

Where was God before the Towers fell?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 11, 2019

After reading about a firefighter being identified all these years later,  I was thinking about how God was in so many places on 9 11 before the Twin Towers fell.

He was there when the firefighters rushed into the buildings so they could save lives after the Towers were hit. He was there when workers were helping each other find their way out of danger. He was there when total strangers helped the wounded make their way to getting medical care, and be there to just offer a shoulder.

He was there before the South Tower fell at 9:59 and still there as people in the North Tower were trying to save lives before it fell at 10:28 am.

God was there before the passengers decided to fight the hijackers on Flight 93 causing it to crash at 10:03 am.

Thirty-seven phone calls were made by 13 persons on board the plane between the time of the hijacking at 9:28 am and the time of the crash at 10:03 am.
He was there all along. Whenever we witness someone doing anything for the sake of others, He is there.

I was going to write a long piece until I came upon something I had already written.


Looking for God in the wrong places 
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
September 12, 2012

Last night I was watching The Four Crosses at Ground Zero.
"As rescue and recovery began, fireman, police, and rescue workers would be forced to endure the nightmare of working and living inside Ground Zero. Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into hopelessness as the reality of what had happened sunk in. While working in Building 6 in the World Trade Center complex, workers discovered a cavernous type hole in the debris."

As I listened to some of the people there, while I thought it was a beautiful story, I kept thinking of what was missing from the program.


It is easy to wonder where God was on that horrible day as other people decided such evil acts were justified when they used everything in their power to kill. Where was He? Why didn't He stop it? How could a loving God allow it to happen?


We ask those questions all the time. We suffer in our lives, then try to figure out why God thought we deserved it. What did we do to make Him turn away from us?


If we search for Him in the dirt and debris we are looking for Him in the wrong place.


God was on those planes that hit the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as much as he was on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. He was not the pilot but He was the comforter. When one hand reached out to comfort someone else, He was right there. Whenever people push past thoughts for themselves to think of someone else, He is there.


Many wonder why He didn't just cause the hijackers to suffer a heart attack an spare so many innocent lives. Others wonder why He just didn't stop them from doing it. The truth is in the Bible that God does not interfere with freewill so He would not have just snatched the hijackers out of their seats. Still how do we know He didn't try to get them to change their hearts?



It is natural for us to ask what caused other humans to do such horrible things but we miss the other question about what causes so many to do compassionate things afterwards.

What caused the police and firefighters to rush into the buildings after pure evil struck them? What caused them to climb the stairs over and over again trying to save as many lives as possible after others tried to kill as many as possible?



While the evil that man does is apparent, the good they do is inherent. It was not just public employees risking their lives that day, there were average citizens in the Towers thinking of others instead of their own lives. Some of them could have survived had they used the time they had to think of their own lives, but they had the lives of others in their thoughts and actions. It was God driving them to do for others and they had the freewill choice to allow His voice to guide them or not.

But then there were smaller miracles. Survivors reached out to help others. Strangers took the hands of other strangers, put their arms around people they would have normally just walked past under normal circumstances. Then people rushed to the area to give whatever help they could.


Days passed while more and more people showed up to help find survivors and recover bodies. God was still there hearing the prayers of the nation and comforting the weary as they refused to leave.


Families of the missing were comforted by others while the time of hope faded into thinking of funerals for when the remains were found.


Every street across the country became decorated with flags and so did our cars. We were all thinking of others glued to our TV sets and reminded to be kinder to other people.


Even members of Congress joined together on the steps side by side. And we know it took a miracle to do that.


Whenever we look for God in what has been lost, we miss where He was all along.

*******
This is the story that caused this post
A firefighter killed on September 11 is identified 18 years later


CNN
By Faith Karimi
September 11, 2019

(CNN)A firefighter who died on September 11 was laid to rest Tuesday after his remains were identified 18 years later.
Michael Haub comforts his mother, Erika Starke, as they attend a funeral service for his father, firefighter Michael Haub.


Firefighters and loved ones gathered to mourn Michael Haub after his remains were conclusively identified, the Uniformed Firefighters Association said in a statement. It said the service was to provide his family with closure and a peace of mind after the medical examiner last week identified more of his remains that were recovered at Ground Zero.

As of July this year, the remains of only about 60% of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center that day have been positively identified, according to the medical examiner's office.

Haub was a 13-year veteran of Ladder Company 4, according to the association.

"We remember him and the 342 other firefighters who perished that fateful day, and will be forever grateful for the courage they show," it said in a statement Tuesday.

In addition to the firefighters killed that day, hundreds more have died in the following years. New York officials say an additional 200 firefighters have lost their lives from illnesses linked to their time working at the World Trade Center after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.
read it here

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Special Forces Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

U.S. Soldier Killed In Afghanistan 
WPRL News 
By MAGGIE PENMAN 
April 8, 2017 

An American soldier was killed in Afghanistan late Saturday, according to a statement posted on Twitter by the NATO-led Resolute Support mission. 

A spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan said that the soldier was part of an operation against ISIS-Khorasan, a branch of the Islamic State operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

The same spokesman confirmed to Reuters that the soldier was a special forces operator.
read more here

Friday, August 5, 2016

Gulf War Veteran-Des Moines Police Officer Remembered For Service

Fallen West Des Moines officer found ways to serve others
The Des Moines Register
MacKenzie Elmer and Charly Haley
August 4, 2016

Miller graduated in 1987 and joined the Iowa National Guard, serving in the 186th Military Police Company. His company deployed to northern Saudi Arabia and Iraq during Desert Storm from January 1991 through May 1991.
Shawn Miller was remembered Thursday as a leader who found ways big and small to touch the community he served as a police officer for 26 years.
(Photo: West Des Moines Police Department)
The 47-year-old was killed in the line of duty Wednesday after colliding with a car while riding his personal motorcycle on U.S. Highway 169 in Dallas County. He was returning to West Des Moines after testifying in a hit-and-run case at the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel.

"It's always the good ones that go," said Joe Carter, of West Des Moines.

Carter knew Miller from the officer's off-duty job as a security guard at the Sheraton hotel in West Des Moines. Miller was always there to bring order during hectic weekends when Carter worked the hotel's front desk.
read more here

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Trooper Chelsea Renee Richard killed in line of duty

FHP trooper, tow-truck driver killed in multicar crash on I-75 near Ocala
Orlando Sentinel
By Kevin P. Connolly and Desiree Stennett, Staff Writers
May 3, 2014

A nine-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol and a tow-truck driver were killed in a crash Saturday on Interstate 75 near Ocala.

Trooper Chelsea Renee Richard, 30, stopped near mile marker 341 on southbound I-75 at 1:40 p.m. after two cars crashed in the area. Both cars were pulled off the highway onto the shoulder.

About 20 minutes later, as Richard was talking with the tow-truck driver, John Duggan, 57, of Levy County, another multi-vehicle crash happened in the same area.

After a seven-vehicle pileup, the driver of a southbound pickup traveled onto the east shoulder where the trooper stood with Duggan and a third man, George Robert Phillip, 52, of Ocala.

The pickup struck Richard, Duggan and Phillip. Both Richard, an Ocala resident who had a 4-year-old son, and Duggan were killed at the scene. Phillip remained in critical conditon at Ocala Regional Hospital late Saturday.
read more here

Friday, May 2, 2014

2 Alaska State Troopers Killed in Line of Duty

Officers from 'Alaska State Troopers' killed
CNN
By Michael Pearson and Ed Payne
May 2, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Both Alaska troopers killed Thursday had appeared on National Geographic show
Sgt. Patrick Johnson and Trooper Gabriel Rich died in Tanana
Details of what happened remain unclear

Tanana is an isolated village of 254 in Alaska's vast interior

(CNN) -- Two Alaska state troopers have died in a confrontation on the dirt streets of an isolated Alaska village.

A spokeswoman for the police agency identified the slain men as Sgt. Patrick Johnson and Trooper Gabriel Rich.

They died Thursday in Tanana, a remote village in Alaska's interior, 130 miles west of Fairbanks and 281 miles north of Anchorage.

Both had appeared on the National Geographic Channel program "Alaska State Troopers," the channel said Friday.

They worked out of the agency's Fairbanks rural service unit, according to the police agency.

Except to say that one person has been detained in the incident, officials have released few details about what happened.

CNN affiliate KTVF reported that the officers had headed to the village to follow up on a report from the previous night of someone brandishing a gun.

The Alaska Dispatch website reported that the troopers were shot after an unarmed village public safety officer called for backup after an altercation involving the botched sale of a $150 couch.

The news site said two people had been arrested, one after a lengthy standoff with heavily armed police.
read more here

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Phoenix Detective John Hobbs' final act of bravery

Phoenix Detective John Hobbs' final act of bravery
AZ Central.com
By Megan Cassidy
March 5, 2014

Heroic. Absolutely heroic.

A colleague used those words to describe the last moments of Phoenix police Detective John Hobbs’ life.

“We’re talking about an officer who got shot and doesn’t give up the fight,” police spokesman Steve Martos said.

Already mortally wounded and with his partner down, Hobbs managed to return fire at the fugitive who’d shot him and is believed to have killed the fugitive.

It was the final act of bravery for a man who’d spent the last seven years of his 21-year career tracking down the worst of the worst violent offenders.

Hobbs, who died Monday of gunshot wounds he suffered after trying to apprehend a man on an attempted-murder warrant, was part of a unit described as one of the “special forces” of the Police Department: the Major Offenders Unit.

Another detective, a 43-year-old, nine-year veteran, was shot and underwent emergency surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. His family asked that his name not be released.

Martos said that to test into the offenders unit, an officer must have the ability to conduct surveillance and know how to track people down.

“The entire unit is motivated, and they are certainly knowledgeable and well-respected,” Martos said.

“They want to help … they want to catch the bad guys.”

And that sums up Hobbs, 43, who was married and had three young children.
read more here

Monday, July 1, 2013

19 firefighters killed in Arizona blaze; 'Our entire crew was lost'

19 firefighters killed in Arizona blaze; 'Our entire crew was lost'
CNN
By Holly Yan
Mon July 1, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The 6,000-acre fire is the deadliest blaze for firefighters since the 9/11 attacks
It has destroyed more than 100 structures northwest of Phoenix and is still burning
19 members of a "hotshot" team from Prescott died in the wildfire
The team's job was to create a firebreak and get as close to the fire as safely possible
Are you near the Arizona wildfire? Please send your photos, videos and updates to iReport. But make safety your top priority.
Read more about this story from CNN affiliates KPHO, KTVK, KPNX and KNXV.

(CNN) -- They were part of an elite squad who confronted wildfires up close, setting up barriers to stop their destructive spread.

But the inferno blazing across central Arizona proved too much.

The 19 firefighters were killed Sunday while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire, northwest of Phoenix. It is the deadliest blaze for firefighters since the 9/11 attacks.

"Our entire crew was lost," Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo told reporters Sunday night. "We just lost 19 of some of the finest people you'll ever meet. Right now, we're in crisis."

The tragedy decimated the Prescott Fire Department by about 20%. Fraijo said one member of the team was not with the other crew members and survived.
read more here

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Texas Police Officer, Deputy Shot; Suspect Killed

Sad update
AP: Hood County deputy dies of gunshot wound
Weatherford Democrat
By NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press
June 29, 2013

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Hood County sheriff's deputy died Saturday, a day after being shot by a man who was later killed by police.

Hood County Sheriff's Sgt. Lance McLean died at the John Peter Smith Hospital on Saturday in Fort Worth, Sheriff Roger Deeds said.

McLean was shot in the head by Ricky Don McCommas, 49, when responding to a disturbance call at a home near Granbury about 35 miles southwest of Fort Worth, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Lonny Haschel said Friday.

"Everybody's having a tough time dealing with it," Deeds said. He said McLean was married and had two children.
read more here
Texas Police Officer, Deputy Shot; Suspect Killed
Officer.com
BILL HANNA AND BILL MILLER
SOURCE: FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
CREATED: JUNE 28, 2013

The suspect reportedly had an assault-style rifle and dozens of shell casings were found at the scene

GRANBURY, Texas -- Two law enforcement officers were wounded and a suspect was fatally shot Friday morning in an incident that ended near Granbury City Hall.

A Hood County Sheriff's deputy was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth and a Granbury police officer was transported to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. Their conditions were not known.

Details were sketchy, but the incident apparently started during a traffic stop in the Oak Trail Shores trailer park -- just outside of Granbury -- where a deputy was shot, according to the Hood County News.
read more here

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Santa Cruz Police department grieve 2 Officers killed

'Darkest day': Two police officers killed in line of duty
By Erika Conner, Kyle Bonagura and Lisa Fernandez
NBCBayArea.com

Two Santa Cruz, Calif., police officers were shot to death Tuesday afternoon - the first time in city history that officers were killed in the line of duty. One suspect was also killed.

The two officers who died, Det. Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Det. Elizabeth Butler, had a combined 38 years of experience with the Santa Cruz Police Department.

"We at the Santa Cruz Police Department are like family," Santa Cruz police chief Kevin Vogel said.

"I've known both of these officers for a long, long time and there just aren't words to describe how I feel personally about this and how our department is reacting to this horrific, horrific tragedy."

Baker had been with the department for 28 years and leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son, Adam, who works for the department as a community service officer.

Butler leaves her partner, Peter, and two young sons.

"This is the darkest day in the history of the Santa Cruz Police Department," Vogel said.
read more here

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Thousands Mourn Loss of Slain Riverside Police Officer, Marine

Thousands Mourn Loss of Slain Riverside Police Officer, Marine
Michael Crain, a former Camp Pendleton Marine, was killed in the line of duty on the morning of Feb. 7, 2013
By Renee Schiavone

Riverside Police Officer Michael ‘Mike’ Crain was a family man remembered Wednesday not only as a devoted Marine and an “ideal officer” by the police department—but also a perfect “wing man” by his friends.

Crain, who was killed in the line of duty on the morning of Feb. 7, was honored at a memorial service at the Grove Community Church in Riverside with an estimated 8,000 people in attendance; the majority of them fellow members of the law enforcement community.

Friends and family painted a picture of the life tragically lost as one that will be dearly missed by all those he touched in his 34 years—11 of which were spent working for the Riverside Police Department and four of which were spent in the United States Marine Corps.
read more here

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Accused Conway Cop Killer is Veteran with PTSD

Attorney: Accused Conway Cop Killer is Veteran with PTSD
By: KARK 4 News Updated: February 11, 2013

We've learned Monday the man accused of hitting and killing a Conway police officer is reportedly a war veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The suspects' attorney says his client is a celebrated war hero, one who was discharged from the military and is considered disabled for PTSD.
read more here

Monday, February 11, 2013

Slain Riverside police officer identified as Marine veteran

Slain Riverside police officer identified as Marine veteran, father of 2
Michael Crain was stationed at Camp Pendleton
Posted: 02/11/2013
Last Updated: 12 hours ago
SAN DIEGO
Michael Crain, 34, was the Riverside police officer allegedly ambushed by Christopher Dorner while on routine patrol last week, Riverside's police chief revealed Sunday.

Crain was an Inland Empire native with "a big heart" and loved spending time with wife Regina and their children Ian, 10, and Kaitlyn, 4.

Crain left "an unforgettable impression" on everyone he met, according to Riverside police Lt. Guy Toussaint.

"He loved attending dance recitals with his daughter and coaching his son's baseball team," Toussaint said. "He also loved his classic 1970 Chevy Nova, which he spent his spare time restoring."

Crain, a former active Marine and war veteran, was publicly identified Sunday for the first time by the department. His name had been withheld due to concerns about the danger presented by Dorner, whose location remained a mystery on Sunday.
read more here

Monday, December 17, 2012

Manhunt on for gunman that killed 2 Kansas Police Officers

2 officers shot, killed outside Kansas grocery store
By Maggie Schneider
CNN
December 17, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A third officer is not hurt
The shooter escapes
120 officers have been killed in the line of duty this year

(CNN) -- Two Kansas police officers responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle were fatally shot in the head outside a grocery store Sunday night.

A third officer who fired back at the shooter was not injured, said Topeka Police Chief Ron Miller.

Police identified the shooter as David Edward Tiscareno, 22. He managed to escape. "The community will help us give this guy up," Miller said, adding that 75 state and local law enforcement officials were working on the case.
read more here

Saturday, April 14, 2012

New Hampshire Police Chief killed days before retirement

NH police chief killed days before retirement
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 13, 2012

Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney was killed in the line of duty on April 12, in New Hampshire, days before retiring.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS The police chief in Greeland, New Hampshire has been shot to death He planned to retire in a few days
Greenland is a town 3,500 people located just south of Portsmouth
"This is a tragedy for our community," official says

(CNN) -- A police chief from southeastern New Hampshire who planned to retire in a few days has been shot to death while trying to execute a search warrant, authorities said Friday.

Chief Michael Maloney of the police department in Greenland, a town of about 3,500, was killed in a shooting that wounded four other officers on Thursday night at a home in the community, said Attorney General Michael Delaney.

"This is a tragedy for our community," he said. "Our law enforcement community is in mourning."

Two suspects, a man and a woman, were found dead in the home after a long stand off, Delaney said. Investigators believe the deaths came from either a "murder-suicide" or a "double suicide," he said.
read more here

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Brevard County Deputy shot, killed during traffic stop

Deputy shot, killed during traffic stop

Orlando Sentinel
1:11 p.m. EST, March 6, 2012

A Brevard County deputy sheriff was fatally shot today in Melbourne during a traffic stop.

The shooting happened just before noon after the deputy pulled over a vehicle connected to a theft report, a spokesman for the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said.

Two people are in custody.
read more here

Brevard sheriff calls deputy's death 'our worst nightmare'

Orlando Sentinel
4:31 p.m. EST, March 6, 2012

Flanked by more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Brevard County Sheriff Jack Parker told reporters on Tuesday that "our worst nightmare has come true."

Deputy Sheriff Barbara Pill was fatally shot in Melbourne while conducting a traffic stop involving a violent felon who was suspected in a recent theft, Parker said in a televised press conference.
read more here

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Ranger Margaret Anderson being hailed as a life saver

'We could have all been dead. I believe she saved our lives'
By KOMO Staff
Published: Jan 3, 2012

MOUNT RAINIER, Wash. -- Ranger Margaret Anderson is being hailed as a life saver by those who were trapped inside Paradise Inn near the scene of the deadly shooting on New Years Day.

Jeremy Best was visiting the park when he heard some loud bangs.

"I heard a few bangs over my right shoulder, which I assumed was avalanche control," he said.

Best had no idea it was gunfire until rangers told park visitors to get inside the Paradise Inn.

"They had just said, 'Somebody had been shot,'" said Best.

Two hours later, the SWAT team arrived and ordered everyone to get on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Suspected gunman Benjamin Barnes had fled into the woods in the direction of Paradise.

"They printed off pictures of who they thought the suspect was, and checked faces, one by one, to make sure he wasn't in the building," said Best.

After being safely escorted off the mountain, Best learned of the fate of the friendly ranger he had just spoken to in the lot of Paradise.

"It wasn't until Monday afternoon when I'd awakened and I got online, and saw her face. And I was in shock, having spoken to her just moments before (her death)," he said.

Rangers said Anderson rushed from the parking lot to intercept Barnes' car before he could reach Paradise.

"We could have all been dead," said Best. "I believe she saved our lives."
read more here



Mount Rainier staff meets to grieve loss of ranger
By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press
Published: Jan 3, 2012
SEATTLE (AP) - Employees at Mount Rainier National Park are gathering together Tuesday to grieve the loss of a park ranger who was fatally shot inside the park.

Park spokesman Greg Shine says park employees are in an all-staff meeting to come together as a community and begin the healing process following Sunday's shooting of Margaret Anderson.
read more here

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Lakeland Police Officer Crispin's life honored at funeral

Friends Remember LPD Officer Crispin at Funeral
LAKELAND
Thousands of mourners filled Victory Assembly Church this morning for the funeral of Officer Arnulfo Crispin.

Officers from throughout Florida attended the service for the 25-year-old officer who was gunned down in the line of duty last week. Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi also attended.

Police Chief Lisa Womack spoke during the service, recalling Crispin's quiet nature and ever-present smile. She said many people have mentioned to her the ways Crispin touched their lives.

"He brought an enthusiasm and energy that was contagious. He was well respected by his peers and praised by those who worked with him for his passion and his energy. As I talked to those who worked closely with him on Charlie Squad over the past week, it was clear he was a favorite member and was becoming respected as a shift leader," she said. "Charlie Squad is going to miss him greatly."

"It is with great sadness that as the police chief of the Lakeland Police Department that I must call the end of watch of Officer Arnulfo Crispin on Dec. 21st, 2011," she said.
read more here

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Virginia Tech officer's widow: 'Somebody took our life from us'

Virginia Tech officer's widow: 'Somebody took our life from us'
Deriek Crouse was her first true love and her best friend, and in the shadow of his death, Tina Crouse grapples with grief and anger.
By Matt Chittum

December 11, 2011

The bullet that tore through Deriek Crouse on Thursday didn’t stop in his lifeless body.

It carried on and on, ripping through a home and family he had been after his whole life and only recently got, breaking the heart of a woman to whom he was a first and only real love, and bringing a crashing end to what had been a working-class fairy tale of a romance.

Crouse, 39, a Virginia Tech police officer, was killed seemingly at random during a routine traffic stop on the Tech campus by a part-time Radford University student, Ross Truett Ashley, 22, of Partlow, who soon after killed himself.

“Nobody knows what he lost,” said Crouse’s widow, Tina, 37, from her Christiansburg townhome Saturday morning. “Somebody took our life from us.”


Deriek met the woman who would become his first wife, Marie Thomas, in Galax.

He joined the Army to save himself from himself, Tina said. His life was on a wrong path and headed for trouble.

He spent three years in the Army, mostly at Fort Hood, Texas, where he and Marie had their only son, Dustin.

They returned to Galax, where Deriek installed vinyl siding for a while, then worked at National Textiles. He also joined the Army Reserve.

About 2002, he and Marie separated, and shortly after he had moved out, he was deployed to the war in Iraq.
read more here

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The other side of suicide by cop, deputy sheriff killed

When police are called because of a combat veteran in trouble, we are saddened by reading about one more veteran dying needlessly. Depending on where the veteran lives, they can be responded to by a very aware police force, or tragically not. Even when they are aware of what combat can do to people, sometimes cops don't have a choice. This is one of those times. A man said he wanted to die according to reports, with the police pulling the trigger. He got his wish but he ended the life of a deputy sheriff. While there is no link to Connors to the military there is one to Kyle Pagerly. We need to be aware of both sides of veterans facing off with police to not pass judgment on police as much as we should with the system that fails them.

The next time you read a story about another veteran killed by police on this blog, think about this story and acknowledge what the police have to go through as well as veterans.


Sheriff Shooting Suspect Left Suicide Note: Cops
Authorities say the man that shot and killed Kyle Pagerly wanted to die.
By Kelly Bayliss
Friday, Jul 1, 2011

The Berks County man that opened fire on 28-year-old deputy sheriff Kyle Pagerly resulting in the death of both men wanted to die, according to police.

Police say that Matthew Connors, 25, left a suicide note two days prior to the incident for his friends and family. Sources say that Connors wanted to die -- suicide by cop.

On Wednesday night around 8 p.m., authorities paid a visit to 43 Pine Swamp Road in Albany, Pa. to serve Connors with a warrant for burglary, criminal trespass and various other offenses.
read more here
Sheriff Shooting Suspect Left Suicide Note

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Iraq veteran kills another serving as a police officer then turned gun on himself

Fond du Lac shooter had given up hope, his mother says

Written by
Colleen Kottke

All Jimmy Cruckson wanted was a perfect life, but he threw that away Sunday morning when something inside him snapped and he took the life of a Fond du Lac Police Department officer, critically injured another and then turned the gun on himself.

The 30-year-old Army veteran spent long hours trying to turn his house at 24 S. Lincoln Ave. into a home for himself and his live-in girlfriend and their two children from previous relationships.

Despite his efforts, Cruckson’s relationship with his 24-year-old girl friend was one that friends and family described as “volatile” and “toxic.” A relationship that brought police to the two-story home on Fond du Lac’s west side on more than one occasion in the past year.

Surita said her son, an Army reservist, was home on leave following a short drill on the West Coast. Cruckson had served in Iraq with the U.S. Army and had joined the Reserves after his enlistment with the Army was up.
read more here
Fond du Lac shooter had given up hope, his mother says


Slain officer was Army veteran, gave '110 percent'
Written by
Russell Plummer
A Fond du Lac Police Department officer shot and killed Sunday morning was born to protect, a family member says.

Officer Craig Birkholz, 28, joined the Army after graduating from Kenosha Tremper High School.

He served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq with an Army military unit, said his aunt, Patty Brown of Kenosha.

He suffered a shoulder injury in Afghanistan when a Humvee he was driving struck a roadside bomb, she said.

“He always gave 110 percent and he’s always achieved his goals,” Brown said. “He was an exceptional young man.

“He always put everyone else first,” she added.
read more here
Slain officer was Army veteran