Regional Organized Crime Information Center Special Research Report • Police Ambush

By ROCIC Publications Manager Mark Zimmerman, ROCIC © 2014 here are times when law enforcement officers feel as if there’s a target on their backs. It’s open season Ton cops. Police work is dangerous enough; then there is the real possibility of a preplanned surprise attack by the criminal element from concealment, i.e., an ambush. There were five ambush deaths in the first half of 2014; five in all of 2013; and 15 ambush deaths in 2012, according to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF). The number of law enforcement professionals killed nationwide jumped 31 percent during the first half of 2014, compared to the same time in 2013. Twenty-five officers were killed by gunfire — a 56 percent increase over last year’s figures — including five in ambush attacks. According to the FBI, 49,851 officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2013, one-third of which were disturbance calls. Thirty percent sustained injuries. Between 1990 and 2000, police that were attributable to ambush was about 12 percent of the total; from 2001 to 2012, that figure was 21 percent. Disturbing statistics, to say the least. This report will detail several case studies in which Police Ambush • Special Research Report police were ambushed, in hopes of discerning the methods by which these assailants operate Case Study 1 so that preventative measures can be taken. Ambush in Bardstown, Ky...... 3 Such measures are elaborated in the last Case Study 2 section of this report. Trooper Shootings...... 7 The FBI defines ambush killings into Case Study 3 two types. One is by entrapment and Sovereign Citizen Traffic Stop...... 11 premeditation, which is a scenario where the Case Study 4 officer was lured into danger as the result of NYPD Officers Assassinated...... 13 conscious consideration and planning. These attacks are generally accomplished from Case Study 5 First Responders Targeted...... 14 cover or hiding; however, they can occur without cover or hiding. Other Case Studies...... 15 There are also ambushes of unprovoked Preventing, Avoiding, Surviving Ambushes...... 23 attacks, which are generally accomplished ROCIC Resources...... 28 Sources of Information...... 29 without hiding; however, they can occur with or without cover, the FBI said.

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• Entrapment ambushes are premeditated. This Source: Ambush Factsheet (IACP) sort of attack is what many police consider to be the “traditional” ambush, where the offender lures an unsuspecting officer into a location to execute an attack. • Spontaneous ambushes are unprovoked attacks without long-term planning. These types of attacks are often considered “crimes of opportunity.” The assailant makes the decision at the time of the officer’s approach and surprises the officer. Generally, four factors define an ambush : including personal interactions and previous arrests. 1. Element of surprise The vast majority (83%) of assailants acted alone. 2. Concealment of the assailant, their intentions, or Nine percent of the time, there are two assailants. In weapon eight percent of ambush incidents, there are three or 3. Suddenness of the attack more assailants. 4. A lack of provocation Overall, firearms have been the weapon most The International Association of Chiefs of Police commonly used by assailants in ambush attacks. (IACP) has studied police ambushes and released However, a significant proportion of assailants the following findings: use only their hands as weapons. Knives and other Officers ambushed are most likely to be patrol sharp objects are the least frequently used weapon. officers (38%), deputy sheriffs (17%), or sergeants Interestingly, a substantial proportion of ambush (15%). The vast majority (82%) of officers are assaults are carried out using “other” deadly alone at the time of the ambush. More than half weapons, which include anything from a blunt (55%) were assigned to one-officer patrol vehicles object to a motor vehicle. Over time, the proportion at the time of the assault. About 12 percent were of ambushes in which hands were the assailant’s on foot patrol, and 10 percent were in two-officer weapon has increased, whereas the proportion of vehicles. The rest were detectives, undercover, on firearms as weapons has generally decreased. In special assignment, or off-duty. 2012, hands and firearms were used almost equally The assailants in ambush incidents are 30 years to carry out ambush assaults. old, on average. Three-quarters of the assailants Clearance rates for both assaults and ambushes have a criminal record. A sizable minority (40%) have increased over time; however, ambush have a violent criminal record. More than a quarter clearance rates remain considerably lower than are under judicial supervision at the time of the assault clearance rates. In 1990, ambushes were assault. Close to one in four have some sort of cleared in just 49 percent of cases; this increased to prior relationship with the officer in the incident, 83 percent by 2011.

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Ambush in Bardstown, Kentucky

[Compiled from various news and police accounts] t is the worst kind of unsolved mystery. An agonizing year-and-a-half after Bardstown, Ky. Police Officer Jason Ellis was gunned down in cold blood on a highway exit ramp in the middle of the night, Ihis killer is still at large. “We have a cop killer who’s gotten away with it,” said Bardstown Chief of Police Rick McCubbin. Officer Ellis, 33, left behind a widow, Amy, and two young sons, Hunter and Parker. “We’re just trying to put our shattered lives back together,” said Amy Ellis. “I lost the love of my life; the boys lost their daddy. We’re trying to stay positive, trying to heal, as best we can.” In 1998 as a police officer in Jefferson County, Ky., McCubbin was forced to shoot and kill an assailant in the line of duty. “I always said that was the darkest moment in my 26 years in law enforcement. But it doesn’t even compare to this, this planned assassination. I lost an officer on my watch.” Deliberate assassination Early on the morning of Sat., May 25, 2013, Officer Jason Ellis clocked off his shift at the Bardstown Police Department (a force of 27 officers in a town of 12,000 inhabitants) and headed home. He and his family resided in Bloomfield, about 15 miles east off the Bluegrass Parkway. It was 2:00 am. Nearing home, Officer Ellis took the Exit 34 ramp off the parkway leading to Hwy. 55 North. In the middle of the ramp, which is bordered by steep rock ledges on each side, was a large tree branch blocking the roadway. Officer Ellis got out of his Ford Crown Vic cruiser and began removing the debris. Out of the darkness came several blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun, knocking the officer to the pavement before he could reach for his .40-caliber Glock service pistol. His body armor did not save him. Officer Ellis expired on the scene. A half hour later, a vehicle pulled up to the police cruiser, its blue lights still flashing. Then a pickup truck approached on the ramp, a man just getting off work at a local whiskey distillery. He stopped, approached the patrol car on foot and then found Officer Ellis in Bardstown Police Officer Jason Ellis front of the vehicle. Meanwhile, a frenzied passenger from the first stopped vehicle climbed in the cruiser and tried to radio for help — “Officer down, officer down!”— but gave the dispatcher a wrong address. Finally, the distillery worker grabbed the portable radio on the patrolman’s belt and called in the correct location. He told the dispatcher that the officer’s body temperature was cold. The route of the funeral procession stretched 17 miles, from the church to the cemetery, dotted every 20 feet with an American

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The Crime Scene

Bloomfield

Exit 34

Bardstown

Sat., May 25, 2013 at 0200 hours

flag, 2,973 in total. Thousands lined the route. games for the Patriots, snagging the school’s all- Police cars from throughout the U.S. lined up for time record for hits with 246, the all-time career the drive, so many that by the time the first car leader in doubles with 60, all-time career leader in reached the cemetery, the hearse still sat parked 17 home runs with 34 and all-time runs batted in with miles back at the church. 183. On Valentine’s Day 2001, he spotted a pretty Ellis was a seven-year veteran of the department redhead from Bardstown at a friend’s party. He and its main police dog handler. In a touching got her number from a friend and started calling. moment, the officer’s German Shepherd dog, Figo, He and Amy were married three years later and put his paw on his master’s casket. Now the dog started a family. Jason signed with the Cincinnati resides with Officer Ellis’ family. (Figo was not Reds’ minor league team in Montana, playing with Officer Ellis the night of his death.) three years. Their first child was born with Down’s syndrome, and Ellis decided to forfeit his major An exceptional citizen league dreams and go home. He promised her Jason Ellis grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, a baseball he’d never regret it, she said. Hunter Ellis is now star at Glen Este High School (he was a first team 8, and his brother, Parker, is 7, a tiny replica of all-city in 1998 and player of the year in the Queen his dad. Jason Ellis was an active coach in youth City Conference) and again at the University of the sports in Nelson County. In Bardstown, he decided Cumberlands in Willamsburg, Ky. He played 186 to pursue his other dream—law enforcement. He

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Officer Ellis’ K-9Figo at the funeral of his master.

was targeted, Gregory said, it’s doubtful that it was for any reason outside of his work. Investigators dug deep into Ellis’ background for anything that might make a person want him dead: gambling debts, drugs, affairs. They found nothing. “Jason Ellis really was that guy: a devoted family man, an honest policeman, a youth baseball coach, a pillar of the community,” Gregory said. The police investigated a local gang that calls itself the Bardstown Money Gang after a member made statements that led some to think they were involved. The gang’s wore badge no. 139. Two years after joining the leader, Deandre Labrice Douglas, who is serving force he was named the department’s sole canine a 10-year sentence on assault and drug-trafficking officer. He received the Governor’s Award for convictions at Roederer Correctional Complex, Impaired Driving Enforcement on 2007 and 2008. told The Associated Press that neither he nor any He was named Officer of the Year in 2008. of his family or friends had anything to do with the officer’s death. The investigation “I know none of my peoples done it,” said Chief McCubbin notes that Ellis’ execution Douglas, whom Ellis had arrested earlier in the was undertaken with tactical precision, fueling year on assault charges. the rumors that the shooter was a professional. State police still have one detective dedicated Assuming Ellis was targeted, the killer knew his solely to solving the , with eight others route home and what time he got off work. “They pitching in when they can. The reward for Ellis’ planned it, organized it, carried it out, executed killer has swelled to nearly $225,000 — thought to him and no one’s in jail,” McCubbin said. be the largest in Kentucky history. The perpetrator could have been a lone wolf, “Anyone willing to murder a police officer, holding a grudge. Officer Ellis was an efficient someone who protects the community, then what narcotics officer but he arrested small-time dealers are they willing to do to the general public?” asked not big-time drug cartels. Some believe that the Lt. Jeremy Thompson, detective with the state officer was not specifically targeted; he was just in police. the wrong place at the wrong time. “While I am thankful for the assistance of the The Kentucky State Police are the chief FBI, it is still troublesome that the amount is investigators into the murder of Officer Ellis. so high and no one is talking. It is not what the Trooper Jeff Gregory, a KSP spokesman, said reward amount is doing; it is what the reward investigators have ruled out nothing. But if Ellis amount is not doing; getting someone to talk. This

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tells me that this murder is deep,” said Police Chief McCubbin. Final resting place Nearly seven feet tall, the headstone, located at Highview Cemetery in Chaplin, Ky., highlights those things Jason Ellis held close — a handprint from each of his sons, a Reds emblem, an etching of him and his family holding hands, and bookended with an American flag and a Thin Blue Line flag. “I miss him so much and it’s unbearable,” Amy Ellis said. “It’s a nightmare I have to live with for the rest of my life.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities: • Email: [email protected] • Call the FBI at (502) 263-6000 • Call the Kentucky State Police at (270) 766-5078

• Chief Rick McCubbin Bardstown Police Department (502) 348-6811, Ext. 2401 [email protected]

Detailed and illustrated media accounts of the Bardstown, Ky. murder can be found at: “Bardstown officer Jason Ellis’ slaying still a mystery” by Claire Galofaro of the Louisville Courier-Journal “http://www.courier-journal.com/longform/news/crime/2014/05/23/bardstown-police-officer-jason-ellis- anniversary/9445715/ and “Exit 34: The Last Watch of Officer Jason Ellis, by Jessica Noll of wcpo.com http://media2.wcpo.com/html/exit34/

Officer Jason Ellis Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OfficerJasonEllis

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Pennsylvania Trooper Shootings

[Compiled from various news and police accounts] orporal Byron K. Dickson II, 38, was heading out the door of the Troop R Blooming Grove Barracks in Crural Pike County, Pa., while State Trooper Alex T. Douglass, 31, was heading toward the same doorway. Shots from a .308-cal. high-powered rifle rang out — four shots within 90 seconds at approximately 11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. The gunman was in the woods and well concealed. Cpl. Dickson was hit and down. A female dispatcher tried to pull the stricken victim inside but was forced to retreat. Trooper Douglass came from the parking lot to assist and was also shot, in the pelvis. Dickson was then shot a second time and was killed. The shooter then vanished into the woods. The barracks, about 35 miles east of Scranton, not far from the borders of New York and , sits on the edge of thousands of acres of woodland in the . Cpl. Dickson was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who joined the state police in 2007 and had worked as a patrol unit supervisor in the Blooming Grove barracks since June. He had been married ten years and was the father of two young sons. Hundreds of law enforcement officers attended his funeral in Scranton, Pa. Trooper Douglass, a nine-year law enforcement veteran, survived the ambush but underwent numerous surgeries. Trooper Alex Douglass

First Lead, Then Search Cpl. Byron Dickson II Two days later, a hiker discovered an abandoned vehicle partially submerged in a pond two miles and state arrest warrants were issued. Frein is also from the barracks. The Jeep Cherokee and its charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid contents (driver’s license, Social Security card, prosecution. gaming permit and two spent .308 shell casings) On September 18, Frein was added to the were traced back to Eric Matthew Frein, 31, who FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives. Reports of lived in Canadensis, Monroe County, Pa., with his sightings became commonplace but only a few parents. Frein was described as a heavy smoker, were confirmed. The annual hunting season was self-trained survivalist, weapons enthusiast, and canceled in northeastern Pennsylvania counties expert marksman who role-played as a Serbian and Halloween celebrations were set to be soldier. The FBI said he claimed to have fought canceled. Reportedly, searchers spotted Frein with Serbians in Africa, and studied Russian and several times but could not close in due to the Serbian languages. rugged mountain terrain. Officers speculated that Frein was charged with homicide, homicide of the fugitive was taunting them, playing a game. a law enforcement officer, and attempted murder, While searching the woods, authorities

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recovered two empty rifle cases, military gear, flashlights, a black hooded sweatshirt, camouflage face paint and information on foreign embassies. Authorities said they found an AK-47-style weapon, ammunition, several pipe bombs, and other items they believe belonged to Frein, including empty packs of Serbian-produced Drina cigarettes. Police also found a U.S. Army manual titled Sniper Training and Employment in the suspect’s bedroom at his parents’ house.

Own Account of Shooting Police also found notes that Frein had written Cpl. Dickson’s funeral service in Scranton, Pa. while on the run. The notes were part of a multi- as pure evil.” page document found, along with other items, at a campsite on Mon., Sept. 29, according to Lt. Col. Fugitive Captured George Bivens, Pennsylvania State Police, who Forty-eight days after the ambush, on October read from the journal, dated Fri., Sept. 12, during a 30, members of a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task news conference. Force noticed a solitary figure in a field near an “Got a shot around 11 p.m.,” Bivens said Frein abandoned aircraft hangar at Tannersville, 35 wrote. “Took it. He dropped. I was surprised at miles from the barracks. They ordered him to how quick. I took a followup shot on his head/ surrender and fall to his knees and Frein complied. neck area. He was still and quiet after that. The airport was the old Birchwood-Pocono Another cop approached the one I just shot. As he Airpark, which was built in the early 1960s for a went to kneel, I took a shot at him and jumped in local resort and closed in 1998. the door. His legs were visible and still. “He was definitely surprised,’’ said the “I ran back to the Jeep. I made maybe half-a- Pennsylvania state police commissioner. “He mile from the GL [game lands] road and hit a roadblock. I didn’t expect one so soon. It was only 15 to 20 minutes. I did a K-turn a quarter-mile from them and pulled into a development I knew had unfinished access roads. Hearing helos [helicopters], I just used my marker lights, missed the trail around a runoff pool and drove straight into it. Disaster. Made half attempt to stash AK and ran.” Bivens said, “I will tell you, after reading this cold-blooded and absolutely chilling account, I can only describe Eric Frein’s actions

Eric Frein in police custody.

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shared an interest in firearms with his serviceman father, who told police that his son is the better marksman. “He doesn’t miss,” he told police. As a teenager, Frein excelled as part of the rifle team at Pocono Mountain High School, where he graduated in 2002. The 2002 edition of the school’s yearbook, The Cardinal, contains a picture of him demonstrating how to fire a rifle. A teammate said Frein was quiet, kept to himself, and was interested in conspiracy theories. After high school, Frein attended classes at two community colleges but did not graduate. He told

Pipe bomb found at fugitive’s campsite. his parents that he had gotten a job at a major pharmaceutical company in Delaware, which isn’t gave up because he was caught and he had no true. Police believe this was a cover story so he choice but to give up.” The manhunt for Frein is could prepare for the ambush shooting. Frein was estimated to have cost $11 million. unemployed at the time of the shooting. Found inside the hangar were a rifle, handgun, a laptop computer, and two storage drives. Frein said he used unprotected Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to the Internet. It’s possible he knew where authorities were concentrating their search. Frein appeared to be in good condition although he sported a bloody nose and forehead bruises from his takedown on the airport asphalt. Dickson Pike County District Attorney Raymond Tonkin filed an array of charges against Frein, including first-degree murder, homicide of a law enforcement officer, attempted murder, possession of weapons of mass destruction and reckless endangerment. The death penalty will be sought. Frein is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing before District Justice Shannon Muir on Tuesday, Dec. 9. On Monday, Pike County officials confirmed that the hearing will be moved from Muir’s courtroom in Hawley to the county courthouse in Milford, just as Frein’s arraignment was.

Well-Trained Marksman Frein re-enacting as a Serbian soldier. A native of New Jersey, Frein is the son of a retired U.S. Army major. Eric Frein and his Fascination with Military Simulation parents (he has a sister and older brother) lived in Frein’s fascination was military simulation; he several states, including Indiana, Illinois, and New belonged to a re-enactment group known as the Jersey, before moving to Pennsylvania in 1994. He Eastern Wolves, part of a larger group called the

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Red Alliance (note: there is nothing illegal about aside from a citation military simulations and gaming). He went by in 2012 for driving the name “Vuchko” and favored an early 1990s, with an expired Serbian-style uniform. Law enforcement officials inspection sticker. have described the Frein as having an obsession His only other prior with the Serbian military, history, and culture. involvement with An associate in the military-simulation the criminal justice community said he considered Frein “an arrogant system came in 2005, ass” but that Frein did not show any propensity when police in New for “real violence.” Others have said Frein was York charged him self-confident, quiet, yet quick to assert his own with stealing $3,120 opinions. According to witnesses, Frein was not worth of clothing political. from a vendor at a Frein’s interest in re-enacting helped him land World War II re- a nonspeaking role in the 2007 short film,Lustig, enactment. He pled about a World War II concentration camp survivor. guilty in 2006 and Frein after capture. His military knowledge led to an appearance in a was sentenced to time still-unreleased documentary on the Vietnam War served (109 days). called Vietnam Appreciation Day. In footage from Paperwork associated with his New York the film obtained by NBC News, Frein talks about conviction was found on Eric Frein’s nightstand teaching the public about military equipment and when police searched his home. It is unknown how it was used. At one point, Frein addresses if that was the catalyst for him to act out on his the difficulty of searching for re-enactors while disdain for police. on location in the woods of Pennsylvania, Authorities say they believe Frein planned foreshadowing the police manhunt for him. the attack for at least a couple of years, based on evidence recovered from the hard drive of a Grudge Against Police computer he had accessed. The analysis showed he Authorities have stated that Frein had a grudge searched for information on how to avoid a police against police, evidenced by statements posted manhunt, the use of various law enforcement online and to witnesses, but no specifics have been techniques, and skills related to survival. released. Frein had no record in Pennsylvania

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Sovereign Citizen Traffic Stop

[Compiled from various news and police accounts] n Thursday, May 20, 2010, at 11:36 a.m., a drug interdiction officer from the West Memphis, Ark. Police ODepartment stopped an eastbound Plymouth Voyager minivan with Ohio plates on Interstate 40 for traffic infractions. The white van came to a stop on an off-ramp near College Boulevard in West Memphis. Making the stop was Officer Bill Evans, 38, a nine-year law enforcement veteran and a father of two. He was backed up within minutes by his partner Sergeant Brandon Paudert, 39, a seven-year police veteran and a father of three. • The overweight white male driver of the van was asked to get out of the vehicle. At one point, the driver began pointing emphatically at his license plate. A short time later, the driver knocked Officer Evans down into a ditch and the passenger, a skinny teenager in a red shirt, began firing an AK-47 rifle at him. The officers shot back with their .40-caliber service pistols but were hit multiple times. Officer Paudert, who took shelter behind the door of his patrol unit, was hit in the head. The suspects got back into the van, the younger gunman still firing his rifle, and sped off. The alert went out and an extensive manhunt was launched. Schools were locked down and roadblocks were set up at interstate ramps and on bridges over the Mississippi River. West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert responded to the “officer down” alert only to discover his own son had been shot and killed at the scene. Officer Evans later succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. About 90 minutes later, the van was sighted in the parking lot of a West Memphis Walmart store by Crittenden County, Ark. Sheriff Dick Busby and his Chief Deputy W.A. Wren. The officers blocked the van Two extremists were killed by police during a shootout in West Memphis, Ark. from escaping onto Rich Road. The officers and the suspects got out of their vehicles disabling it. A lady at the Walmart store screamed and exchanged gunfire. The officers got back into “Shoot out!” and employees and customers ran to their unmarked unit. Sheriff Busby was hit in the the rear of the store and waited in the stockroom left shoulder, and Wren was shot three times in the area, where they were guarded by policemen. abdomen. In the parking lot, approximately 30 law Another responding officer, Michael K. Neal, 33, enforcement officers, including the Arkansas with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, State Police, surrounded the van and killed both rammed his pickup truck into the side of the van, suspects in the subsequent shootout. A total of 260

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rounds were expended. The driver had been shooting with a Taurus 45 revolver. Two dogs had also been in the van; one was killed, and the other escaped after the shooting stopped. The small city of West Memphis, including the police department, was stunned by the violence and the killings. “It’s just awful for the families,” said Sara Warhurst of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Crittenden County, as donations were collected Sergeant Brandon Paudert, left, and Officer Bill Evans at ballgames. “It will be a while before anything gets back to normal around here.” He was an associate of Drew Allen Gillham, a Sheriff Busby was treated and released at the sovereign citizen advocate incarcerated in federal Memphis Regional Medical Center two days after prison in Ashland, Ky. Kane resided in Springfield, the shootings. On June 18, after several surgeries, Ohio, much of the past two decades but traveled Chief Deputy Wren was released from the extensively. Kane had just given a two-day Regional Medical Center and entered a Jonesboro, seminar in Las Vegas, Nev. that ended May 16. Ark. rehabilitation center. He was later sent home Sheriff Gene Kelly of the Clark County, Ohio to recover. S.O. is familiar with Kane. “Every elected official Four days after the shootings, separate funeral here in Clark County has a file on him,” he said. services were held for both slain officers at the Kelly said Kane visited his office in 2004 after West Memphis High School gymnasium, with officers had ticketed him for driving with an hundreds of officers and mourners attending. expired license plate and without seat belts. “He Officer Paudert’s casket was draped with an was very upset with the judge,” Kelly said. “He American flag. advised me that he did not need a license plate and that he is a free man. He said the judge was Strong anti-government views attempting to enslave him.” Killed in the Walmart shootout were two anti- Videos posted on the Internet by Kane revealed government extremists and members of the loosely his philosophy was to apply overwhelming organized sovereign citizen movement: Jerry violence to conquer foes, a philosophy he credited R. Kane Jr., 45, of Chester, Ohio, and his son, to the Bible. He also stated, “I don’t want to kill Joseph, 17. According to sources, the teenager did anybody, but if they keep messing with me, that’s most of the shooting. The teenager was so skilled what it’s going to have to come out. That’s what’s with an AK-47 that he didn’t use the weapon’s it going to come down to, is I’m going to have to foldable stock to improve accuracy. According to kill. And if I have to kill one, then I’m not going to a family friend, the son had been raised “without be able to stop, I just know it.” any boundaries or limits” and was home-schooled Kane had been arrested near Carrizozo, N.M. by his father. “Jerry raised a time bomb,” the after encountering what he called a “Nazi source said, adding that Jerry Kane, the father, lost checkpoint where they were demanding papers or control of himself following the death of his first jail.” He spent three days in jail before posting a wife several years ago. $1,500 bond. Since 1983, Kane had been arrested Jerry Kane held strong anti-government views or cited six times in Clark County for bad checks, and toured the country with his son offering criminal trespass, drunken driving, and driving seminars on “mortgage fraud” and debt avoidance. with expired tags.

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NYPD Officers Assassinated

[Compiled from various news and police accounts]

n Sat., Dec. 20, 2014, at 2:45 pm, two New York City Police Officers were shot to death as they sat Oin their patrol car in Brooklyn. Killed instantly were Officers Rafael Ramos, 40, andW enjian Liu, 32, members of the 84th Precinct in downtown Brooklyn assigned to patrol the Tompkins Houses, a public- housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant where there had been reports of violence. The shooter, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had shot an ex-girlfriend earlier that day in Owings Mill, Md., traveled to New York, shot the officers, and fled to a nearby subway station, where he killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Officer Ramos joined the NYPD two years ago. He was the married father of two sons. He and nearly 150 others were scheduled to graduate later that afternoon from a community-crisis chaplaincy program. Officer Liu was a seven-year veteran of the force who had been married for two months. He was an only child of parents who had come to the U.S. from China. Brinsley had a troubled emotional history that included clashes with his family and a suicide attempt. Social-media postings and interviews with family members show Brinsley was angry at NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos the government, prone to unstable behavior, and often despairing. The Brooklyn native had a total from Baltimore to New York City, police said. of 19 arrests in Georgia and Ohio, was in and out Baltimore County police tracked him through the of local jails, and spent two years in prison on a cellphone as he moved north. Brinsley arrived in weapons-possession charge, getting out in July NYC at 10:50 am, and there is video of him taking 2013. The gunman tried to hang himself about a an N train toward Brooklyn. An alert sent from year ago, according to police. Baltimore apparently was not received in time. The crime spree began about 5:30 am on In Brooklyn, shortly after speaking with December 20 when Brinsley entered the Owings two bystanders, Brinsley Mill, Md. home of Air Force reservist Shaneka approached a sitting patrol car Thompson, 29, an ex-girlfriend, with a key he outside a Brooklyn housing wasn’t supposed to have. During a confrontation, project, assumed a shooting he shot her once and fled with her cellphone. stance, and fired four shots She is expected to survive. Shortly after 6 am, through the passenger side Brinsley called Ms. Thompson’s mother to say the window. Police chased shooting was an accident. Brinsley called relatives Brinsley into a nearby subway and the woman’s family members several times station, where he shot himself throughout the morning as he traveled by Bolt Bus in the head.

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First Responders Targeted in Florida

[Compiled from various news and police accounts]

n Sat., Nov. 22, 2014, a resident of Tallahasse, Fla. deliberately set fire to his home to lure first Oresponders to the street so he could gun them down in an ambush that killed Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher L. Smith, a 47-year-old father of two. Tallahasse Police Officer Scott Angulo shot and killed the gunman, Curtis Wade Holley, 53, after a 12-minute gun battle in the middle of the street in the normally quiet northwest Tallahassee Plantation Woods neighborhood. Smith and fellow deputy Colin Wulfekuhl were the first to arrive on the scene of the fire in separate vehicles. Smith was shot and killed immediately by Holley, who was armed with a .40-caliber handgun. “These first responders performed their duty bravely, with courage and with honor,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. James McQuaig during a press conference. “They are the reason that this casualty count is not higher than what it is.” The police spokesman said the perpetrator was known to be anti- government and had discussed harming law enforcement personnel. The arson ambush was a deliberate plan. He set fire to the house and waited until it was engulfed before going to a neighbor and asking her to call 9-1-1. Deputy Wulfekuhl kept the gunman engaged as other police officers and firefighters arrived at the scene. “It is extremely important to recognize that Colin Wulfekuhl probably saved the life of every firefighter that was there initially responding,” Lt. McQuaig said. Once the firefighters were out of harm’s way, Wulfekuhl turned to leave to take cover himself and was shot by Holley in the Leon County Sheriff’s Deputy center of his back, but the bullet was stopped by his vest. Christopher Smith Holley began moving up the street continuing to shoot, until he was shot and killed 12 minutes after the shooting began. Deputy Smith (S.O. badge 347) began his law enforcement career in 1989 as a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher. He joined LCSO in 2009 and worked the uniform patrol division. “He was a loving, Christian man who loved his wife and his children most of all,” said Lt. McQuaig. Three veteran dispatchers subsequently were fired after an internal review determined they did not follow dispatch protocol for the fire call. The employees failed to relay to first responders call notes put into the system just two weeks prior that Curtis Wade Holley had threatened to shoot law enforcement officers if they came to his door, according to the internal review.

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Police Ambushed By Extremists, Deranged

[Compiled from various news and police accounts]

aw enforcement officers in the U.S. recently Police on alert in Times Square. Lhave been advised of threats issued against them by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, specifically in a call to action to “lone wolf” adherents in the U.S. In a joint intelligence bulletin issued Nov. 30, 2014, by the FBI with the Department of Homeland Security, officials strongly urged those who serve in uniform to scrub their social media accounts of anything that might bring unwanted attention from “violent extremists” or would help the extremists learn individual service members’ identities. Officials said they fear copycat attacks government personnel “in any manner” and that based on what happened in Canada, where two potential attackers should “not ask for anyone’s uniformed Canadian soldiers were killed in two advice” prior to striking because such attacks are separate incidents by young men who claimed they legitimate. were ISIS followers. On Sept. 16, 2014, an ISIL supporter posted On Sept. 21, 2014, a forum participant posted to an ISIL-dominated forum an Arabic-language a message containing links to download an document—also advocating “open source jihad, or English-language translation of an audio message lone wolf operations,” and offers a list of potential that advocated for lone offenders in the West targets, including military, law enforcement, to attack “soldiers, patrons, and troops…their FBI personnel, government officials, and media police, security, and intelligence members.” figures. He claimed lone offenders should kill such Five suspects were arrested in Great Britain planning attacks on law enforcement. Australian Canadian soldier killed at war memorial. police shot and killed an 18-year-old male attacker during a police interview. Police in that country also detained 15 suspects accused of plotting terror attacks, to include public beheadings. On Sept. 21, 2014, the day before the U.S. launched its biggest air blitz against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani called upon Muslims in the U.S. and Europe to attack members of the military:

“Do not ask for anyone’s advice and do not seek anyone’s verdict. Kill the disbeliever

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whether he is civilian or military, for they have Police ambush nothing new the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers. Deputy John Swann and Constable James Jett, of the Both of them are considered to be waging war.” Roane County (Tenn.) Constable’s Office, were shot and killed as they attempted to raid an illegal liquor still seven Attacks on Canadian, British servicemen miles north of Rockwood, Tenn. Several suspects were On Oct. 22, 2014, in Ottawa, Canada, a lone hiding in an ambush position in a barn. The suspects shot gunman identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau and killed both officers and attempted to conceal their (Michael Joseph Hall), a recent convert to Islam bodies. The suspects tried to move the still to another with a criminal history, shot to death a Canadian location, and then fled the scene. After several hours, the serviceman guarding the tomb of the unknown Roane County sheriff and Harriman City police chief went soldier at the National War Memorial and then to the scene and discovered the two bodies. The day was fired shots at the nearby Parliament building Fri., Feb. 8, 1924. Deputy Swan was survived by his wife and four children. before being shot to death by guards. Two days earlier, a radical jihadist had driven Two suspects were eventually apprehended and over two soldiers at a strip mall south of Montreal, charged in connection with the officers’ murders. One Canada, killing one of them. The suspect, Martin was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to Rouleau-Couture, had been radicalized during the life in prison. He was eventually released and died in past year. He was shot and killed by police. Owosso, Mich., on April 7, 1971. The other was convicted On May 22, 2013, a British Army soldier, of second-degree murder but the Tennessee Supreme Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Court reversed his case in 1927. On Feb. 25, 1951, he Fusiliers, was attacked and killed by Michael was shot and killed at a cafe in Harriman, Tenn. Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale near the Royal Source: Officer Down Memorial Page Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London. http://www.odmp.org/officer/18032-deputy-sheriff-john-franklin-swann Two men ran him down with a car, then used knives and a cleaver to stab and hack him to death. observed in combination with other suspicious The men dragged the victim’s body into the road behaviors—particularly advocacy of violence— and remained at the scene until police arrived. they may constitute a basis for reporting. They told passers-by that they had killed a soldier • Sharing of media glorifying violent extremist to avenge the killing of Muslims by the British acts in attempting to mobilize others to violence armed forces. The assailants, armed with a gun and • New or increased advocacy of violence cleaver, charged at the police, who fired shots that • Encouraging visits to violent extremist websites wounded them both. Both are British of Nigerian highlighting perceived Western atrocities descent, raised as Christians, who converted to against Muslims to encourage others to engage Islam. They were found guilty of murder and in violence sentenced to life imprisonment. • Active participation in violent extremist web forums to recruit or support terrorism Indicators of radicalization • Communicating with known or suspected According to the FBI, court documents and press homegrown or foreign-based violent extremists reporting reveals several observable behaviors using e-mail or social media platforms that may indicate radicalization and mobilization • A subject’s advocacy that their religious, to violence. Some of these activities may be cultural, or national group requires violent constitutionally protected, and any determination defense from an external threat of possible illicit intent should be supported by • Participation in paramilitary exercises and additional facts that justify reasonable suspicion. reconnaissance and surveillance activities These activities are general in nature and any in a manner that is reasonably indicative of one may be insignificant on its own, but when pre-operational planning related to terrorism,

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particularly in conjunction with advocacy of car. He had been on the job for less than a year. violence Other officers returned fire, killing Campbell, the • Suspicious training behavior that would arouse gunman. The United Blood Nation gang vowed suspicion in a reasonable person, such as retaliation against local police for the shooting of the targeting of effigies, mimicking specific Campbell. operational conditions at gun ranges or gun shows, or practicing assault tactics at paintball facilities • Use of cover terms to mask the true meaning of events or nefarious activities combined with active advocacy of violence • Acquisition of suspicious quantities of weapons and ammunition, or materials that could be used to produce explosives such as hydrogen peroxide, acetone, gasoline, propane, or fertilizer • Suspicious weapons purchases, such as attempted purchases by individuals providing inconsistent or suspect identification, refusal to fill out the appropriate documentation, or issuance of vague or cryptic warnings that are violent in nature during purchase. Two ambushed in Las Vegas “We’ve seen an unprecedented number of Ambush in NJ parking lot suspects shoot at our officers this year, or shoot On July 13, 2014, Lawrence Campbell walked our officers,” said Sgt. John Sheahan of the Las into a Jersey City, N.J. drug store, assaulted a Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The LVPD security guard and stole his gun, and waited in the has reported 11 officer-involved shootings so far in parking lot for police to arrive. He boasted to a 2014, compared with seven during the same time witness that he was “going to be famous.” When last year. On June 8, 2014, at 11:22 am, a husband Melvin Santiago, 23, who dreamed of being a and wife walked into a Las Vegas pizzeria and police officer so he could serve and protect his community, responded to the burglary call, he was shot in the head before he got out of his patrol

Officer Melvin Santiago Lawrence Campbell

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opened fire at point-blank range on two uniformed officers having lunch. Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, were killed. Each left a wife and children. The suspects stripped the officers of their guns and ammunition, and covered them with a yellow “Don’t tread on me” banner. One yelled, “This is a revolution.” The couple then stormed a nearby discount department store and killed a female customer before killing themselves in a gun battle with police. The married couple were identified as Jerad Miller, 31, and Amanda Miller, 22, both of whom harbored extremist anti- government and white supremacist ideologies. Zale Thomopson

Gang searching for officers’ addresses the arm. Then he struck Officer Kenneth Healey, Names and photos of three police detectives 25, in back of the head, resulting in a “very serious in the Prince William County, Va. area were injury.” He underwent surgery and was released discussed at an MS-13 gang meeting in the fall from the hospital a week later. NYPD sent a of 2014, according to a confidential informant. directive to all officers telling beat officers to The gang members were attempting to find out walk in pairs, remain alert, and to reinforce station where the detectives lived. A suspicious vehicle house security. Officers there have also been told was spotted outside one detective’s house; when not to take breaks for meals alone. confronted, the driver of the vehicle sped off. Two SJPSO deputies killed by extremists DC unit attacked by axman in Louisiana ambush On Oct. 31, 2014, at 3 am, a man with an ax Before dawn on Aug. 16, 2012, off-duty St. attacked a Washington Metro P.D. police car John the Baptist Parish Deputy Michael Scott parked in Washington, D.C. in a “completely Boyington, 33, was shot by a Sovereign Citizen unprovoked” attack. The officer inside the marked extremist as he directed traffic in a parking lot squad car was not harmed. The weapon missed at the Valero refinery in LaPlace, La. Boyington the officer’s head by inches. The officer chased his had pulled over Terry Smith as Smith was leaving assailant and wrestled with him before the suspect his job on the night shift at the refinery. Smith managed to escape. sped away, and his passenger, Brian Smith, a paranoid schizophrenic, opened fire with an AK- NYPD officers attacked with hatchet 47. Deputy Boyington was hit four times, twice On Oct. 23, 2014, at 2 pm, Zale Thompson, in the arm and twice in the side. Smith fled to the 32, injured two rookie New York City policeman Scenic Riverview Trailer Park where they had with a hatchet outside a department store before been staying. Responding to the trailer park were being shot dead by police in the Jamaica section SJPSO Deputies Jeremy Triche, Brandon Nielsen, of Queens. Investigators believe Thompson Jason Triche, and Anthony Bullock. Jeremy was inspired by Islamic extremist ideology. A Triche and Jason Triche are not related. At the surveillance video released by police shows a trailer home door, Brian Smith opened fire in an bearded man in a green hooded coat running on ambush, joined by fellow gunman Kyle Joekel. the sidewalk, raising the hatchet from his side to Jeremy Triche and Brandon Nielsen were both over his head and swinging it with both hands. The killed. Jason Triche was shot through the back, but suspect first struck Officer Joseph Meeker, 24, in survived.

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to trailer park, picking up jobs as welders and day laborers at construction sites. Terry Smith’s wife, Chanel Skains, and Brian Smith’s girlfriend, Britney Keith, traveled with them. In Tennessee, months before the shooting in LaPlace, they met a like-minded Nebraska outlaw named Kyle Joekel, who’d fled his home state in a high-speed chase after threatening to kill any cop who tried to control him. Derrick Smith, during one of his many prior incarcerations, wrote his brother a letter from jail. “Dad said he wanted to go to war with the police, well I’m gona see if he bout that,” he scribbled. “I aint got nothing to live for any more, so I’m gona take everyone to hell with me. I found out where my old P.O. lives. I’m gona get his wife and kids, let him live in pain.” That letter, found in one of the sons’ trailers St. John the Baptist Parish Deputies (clockwise from up- after the LaPlace massacre, has become evidence per left): Jeremy Triche, Brandon Nielsen, Jason Triche, and Michael Boyington. in the case against them. Prosecutors point to it as proof that the father not only knew of his sons’ Jason Triche, an 11-year veteran of the murderous intentions, but encouraged them. department, recalled from the witness stand how Brian Smith and Joekel, the two accused he found his way, bleeding, to a patrol car. He shooters, are each charged with capital murder, drove himself to the hospital, radioing in his facing the possibility of execution if convicted. location along the way. He felt himself growing Of the seven charged, only three still await trial. weak, breathing in cold air. One, 22-year-old Teniecha Bright, was released Boyington, who’d worked four years with from custody when authorities decided she was the Sheriff’s Office, lost count of the number of telling the truth — she’d merely hitched a ride surgeries he underwent. Maybe seven, maybe home with the Smith clan and got caught in the eight, he testified. fray. The Smith family accused in the killings have written various manifestos maintaining their allegiance as Sovereign Citizens, a loose but volatile group of anti-government extremists. They are described by the FBI as domestic terrorists and their encounters with authority, particularly police, routinely turn violent. “You approach me ya better be ready to get in, to wear a badge is a sin, you will be put to death, my bullets cuttin through ya vest.” Avowed Sovereign Citizen Terry Smith had passed his deep distrust in government to his two sons, Brian and Derrick. The Smith family, originally from northern Louisiana, has stuck together, moving from state to state, trailer park

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The two other women, Skains and Keith, have The McLellands were ambushed and murdered pleaded guilty as accessories and agreed to testify at their home east of Dallas over the Easter against their former family. weekend 2013. Two months earlier, on January And Derrick Smith, too, pleaded guilty as an 31, ADA Hasse, 57, was assassinated by a masked accessory and agreed to a five-year sentence, plus gunman as Hasse walked from his car to the a 12-year sentence for being a felon in possession county courthouse. The motive for the killings was of a firearm. He is scheduled to be paroled in June revenge—McLelland had prosecuted Williams in 2017, according to the Department of Corrections. 2012 for stealing computers from the courthouse. Williams’ wife Kim has been indicted for murder and is cooperating with authorities. It should be noted that Williams was found guilty by jury trial in the killing of Cynthia McLelland only (if he had been acquitted prosecutors intended to try him for Mike McLelland’s death and Hasse’s death).

Kaufman Co., Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland and wife Cynthia.

Sheriff Eugene Crum; Assistant DA Mark Hasse Tennis Maynard West Virginia Sheriff ambushed in car Eric Williams On April 3, 2013, shortly after noon, Mingo County, W.Va. Sheriff Eugene Crum, 59, was shot in the head at point-blank range and killed as he sat in his patrol car eating lunch in Williamson, W.Va. The gunman returned to his vehicle and sped away. The gunman was identified as Tennis M. Maynard, 37, of Ragland, W.Va., who is mentally disturbed. Maynard was subsequently shot and wounded by a Mingo County Deputy. More than 500 law enforcement officials attended the sheriff’s funeral services and 273 police cruisers drove in the procession. After several DA, wife, assistant shot to death in Texas delays, Maynard is still awaiting trial. On Dec. 4, 2014, former justice of the peace Eric Williams was convicted of capital murder in Gunned down in patrol car the shooting deaths of Kaufman County, Texas On Oct. 22, 2009, an arson fire and explosion District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife were set off at a Seattle (Wash.) Police Department Cynthia, and McLelland’s assistant, Mark Hasse. maintenance garage, destroying several patrol

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Christopher Monfort

Officer Timothy Brenton vehicles and a Mobile Command rig. Nine days later, on October 31, East Precinct Field Training The four slain Lakewood, Wash. Officer Timothy Brenton had pulled over to the Police Department Officers side of a road in the Leschi Neighborhood to go over a just-completed traffic stop with his student Officer Britt Sweeney. Without warning, a car pulled to the side of their patrol vehicle and opened fire. Officer Brenton was killed instantly. Student Officer Sweeney was grazed, but was able Maurice Clemmons to return fire at the vehicle and radio for help. Six days later, a citizen tip on the type of car being sought led investigators to the Tukwila apartment complex of Christopher Monfort. He had weapons and bomb-making materials in his home, and Officer Ronald Owens, 37; Officer Tina Griswold, his car matched the description of that seen the 40; and Officer Greg Richards, 42. All were shot night of the shooting. He was taken into custody in the head or neck. exactly as Brenton’s memorial service ended. He The gunman, Maurice Clemmons, 37, fled the is charged with aggravated first-degree murder scene, sparking a two-day manhunt that spanned and attempted first-degree murder in connection several cities in the Puget Sound region. Seattle with the shooting of Brenton and Sweeney. He is Police, already on high alert since the killing of also charged with arson and attempted first-degree Officer Brenton less than a month before, had murder in connection with the firebombing at the checked several Seattle-based locations where it city maintenance facility, and another attempted was believed the suspect might try to stay with first-degree murder charge for attempting to shoot family, but he was not located. At 2:30 am on a detective who was pursuing him. Jury selection December 1, while on routine patrol, an SPD for his capital-punishment trial began in October officer noticed a car at the side of the road with 2014. the hood up and the engine running. The office was back in his patrol car when he noticed a man Four murdered in coffee shop matching Clemmons’ description approaching On Nov. 29, 2009, four Lakewood (Wash.) from the rear of his car. The man began to pull Police Department officers were murdered when something from his waistband. The officer shot at they were gunned down at a Parkland, Wash. Clemmons multiple times and he died at the scene. coffee shop. The suspect was found to be carrying a gun he had The slain officers were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; taken from one of the Lakewood officers.

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Roane County, Tenn. Deputy Bill Jones

Leon Houston, below left, and Rocky Houston

Detective Vicky Armel and Officer Michael Garbarino into an ambush set up by the original car-jacking suspect, an 18-year-old male who drove to the sub-station in a hijacked van. At the same time, FCPD Officer Michael Garbarino, 53, was sitting in his cruiser at the same Chantilly substation just finishing his shift when Michael W. Kennedy Ambush in East Tennessee he was struck five times by shots fired from the On May 11, 2006, Roane County, Tenn. suspect, identified as Michael W. Kennedy, 18. Deputy Bill Jones, 53, and Mike Brown, a former He was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, a high- policeman, were shot and killed in an apparent powered hunting rifle, five handguns and extra ambush along State Highway 58 in eastern clips of ammunition, as he entered the private Tennessee. The deputy, shot 19 times, and his police parking lot at the station. He fired 70 rounds friend, shot 12 times, were both killed while seated before the fierce gun battle with officers ended. inside Jones’ patrol car. Jones had more than 25 Three weeks earlier he had escaped from the years experience as a law enforcement officer. Potomac Ridge psychiatric treatment facility in The suspects, brothers Rocky and Leon Houston, Rockville, Md. Garbarino survived for more than claimed they shot Jones and Brown in self defense. a week in critical condition before he died. A third The officers were shot on the Houstons’ property officer, a 23-year-old patrolman, was also shot as they tried to serve an arrest warrant for failure during the ambush outside the station house. He to appear. After two mistrials, both Houston survived. The motive appeared to be revenge; the brothers were acquitted of murder charges when suspect had been arrested one month earlier by the prosecutors were unable to prove that they fired FCPD for an earlier car-jacking. first at Jones and Brown. Shot to impress a gang High-powered shootout in Virginia In April 2004, California Highway Patrol Officer On Mon., May 8, 2006, Detective Vicky Thomas Steiner was leaving the courthouse in Armel, 40, of the Fairfax County, Va. Police Pomona when he was ambushed and shot to Department was shot and killed as she exited the death while waiting to cross a street leading to Sully substation in Chantilly intending to respond the parking lot where his unit was parked. The to a car-jacking call. Apparently she walked five-year veteran was wearing his body armor,

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but the shots fired by his assailant struck him in the head and neck. The suspect, Valentino Arenas, 16, had stopped his vehicle in front of the officer and fired from roughly 15 feet away. Reportedly the suspect killed the officer to impress the members of a street gang. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Steiner

Social Media Guidelines for Police Officers Law enforcement officers should use good judgment when posting personal information about themselves on social networks. For instance, if you have worked or are currently working in an undercover capacity it is recommended that you DO NOT post photographs of yourself with your personal information on social networking sites – as this may create serious officer safety consequences. Suggested Measures: • Secure all photographs and other information by customizing your privacy settings to control who may access your information and photographs • Set privacy settings to ‘Friends Only’ • Make your profile photo something that is obscure or known only to those who know you • Remember: anyone can see your profile photo • Do not post photographs or information that identifies ouy as a law enforcement officer • Stay current on security changes and updates on social networking sites, as they are constantly changing

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Officers Can Protect Themselves

hat can the average street-wise officer do to Awareness Wprevent an ambush-style assault? Plenty. Awareness of your surroundings can also help prevent ambushes. Aside from immediate-response Body Armor situations, pausing before leaving the stationhouse, According to the FBI statistics, 23 of the 54 walking out the door of a residence or rounding a officers killed by firearms in 2004 were not corner of an alley may allow for one of those pre- wearing body armor when they were slain. Of the attack danger cues to emerge. What some officers 31 who were wearing their vests, most died from call their sixth sense is really a heightened state of either head or neck wounds or were struck in areas awareness honed from years of experience. Use it not protected by their vests. Three were struck to your advantage. above the vest, for instance; two were hit profile (the vests did not have side panels); two were Appearance struck in the arm hole or shoulder area; and two Make yourself a small target. I was one of the were hit below the vest. first bosses to deviate from the time-honored Bottom line: There’s no doubt a vest remains the tradition of street lieutenants wearing white shirts. best thing you have going for you in surviving a It didn’t take long after my promotion to feel the firearms ambush. estrangement from my brother and sister officers at the scene of night-time shots fired calls, and Backup to realize that in the ambient-light environment The majority of officers killed from 1995–2004 of a city street, a white shirt and shiny shield were killed while working single-officer squads make for great target acquisition. After that, navy (52 percent), and the vast majority of those (57 blue shirts became the order of the day for all percent) were alone when they where killed. The graveyard officers regardless of rank. Think about odds against being ambushed improve if you have your uniform for a moment. Sure, those merit backup present. Without being paranoid, you can pins and marksmanship badges look great on lower the odds of ambush by just not being alone. your dress blouse, but are they really needed for Think about taking your coffee break with another everyday wear? Your hat might be important when officer, or when parked to catch up on your reporting to the brass or for parade detail, but on paperwork or filling out your time book, share the a dark night when walking to your squad or to the experience with another officer from a bordering parking lot, is it really necessary? sector. Forget about those citizens who will think you are goofing off on their dime. Preventative Source: Ambush Survival, by Dave Grossi, 2007. officer-safety issues such as body armor, backup or two-officer meets should not be discussion issues for non-cop types.

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Six Concepts To Improve Your Odds

Sudden assaults can happen anytime and anywhere. Killers attack when they perceive that officers are relaxed and unprepared for such an assault — surprise is the key to a successful ambush. You can improve your odds at prevailing in such an assault. Consider these six concepts:

1. Believe it can happen to you. Complacency is the cop-killer’s most able accomplice.

2. Never relax on duty. This includes the time spent on the way to and from work. Maintain a state of yellow, which is an alert awareness of your surroundings.

3. Strive to maintain a position advantage throughout your shift.

4. Have an exit plan — whether writing a report, having lunch, making a street contact, or even while approaching a barking dog complaint. Do this consciously for one week straight and after a while it will become seemingly automatic.

5. Scan and process, constantly making yourself aware of your surroundings. This will not only make you a better cop, but a safer cop. Avoid technological tunnel vision when you’re in public. Every time you catch yourself engulfed by a technological snare, “Look up and look out!” and scan and process once again.

6. Train!

Source: Lt. Dan Marcou, PoliceOne.com, Nov. 26, 2014

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MARCH Into Battle Ready and Prepared

When the unexpected battle commences, remembering the letters of the word “march” may help you as you MARCH into battle.

Move! Move left, right, forward, reverse, or even tuck and roll. Anything is better than standing still. A moving target is harder to hit. You may want to do this in your squad car by quickly exiting the kill zone, or choose to exit your squad car. Train for both eventualities, so that you can do it quickly under stress.

Arm yourself, acquire, identify and isolate the threat, and arrive at cover simultaneously as you move. Sound alarm to innocents in the area to get down or get out.

Return fire and reload. Request assistance. Retreat may be your only option in some circumstances to continue the fight effectively. Disengaging from the immediate area, to recover and regroup may truly be your only viable course of action. Once done, prepare for a return to the fight by rallying the proper personnel, with the proper equipment.

Continue the fight as you communicate to dispatch and other officer the location of the threat, type of threat and safe approach. Contain the threat and conclude the gun fight successfully. Continue thinking and acting up until the time when the threat is concluded, either by the suspect’s capitulation, incapacitation, death from wounds, or when he commits suicide. Control the suspect(s) and his weapons as well as the scene. Be certain there are not multiple suspects. Check yourself for wounds.

Help yourself if you need emergency medical care. After establishing that you are good, help others. With that done and after controlling the suspect, render aid to him as well — this is what makes us the good guys/gals. Help should also include emotional help for officers involved, following this critical incident. All wounds are not physical.

There is no particular order to do these tasks! Sometimes in fact, you may be moving, arming yourself, communicating, returning fire, and retreating all at once. Since you may have to do that in real life, you should find a way to safely train for this possibility.

Source: Lt. Dan Marcou, PoliceOne.com, Nov. 26, 2014

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Traffic Stop Safety Guidelines Excerpt from Traffic Stop Study Guide 2010 • Developed with assistance from the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. The Personal Preparation Phase The Contact Phase Because officers do not know who they Tactical considerations when approaching a will encounter in a traffic stop, they must stopped vehicle include environmental factors always be cautious and display a confident and (lighting, roadway conditions), presence of professional attitude. Officer survival rests on bystanders, number of occupants in stopped three foundational pillars: vehicle, known criminal history of occupants, information received from dispatcher, and • Physical conditioning presence of backup units. • Mental conditioning • Tactical thinking As you approach the vehicle from the driver’s side, look for altered license plates, the trunk Pre-Stop Phase lid open, and brake lights coming on. Put There are three reasons to stop a vehicle: your handprint on the trunk lid to tie you to investigation, citation, and arrest. Officers that specific vehicle. If there is someone in should select an appropriate site for a vehicle the backseat, stop at the edge of the rear door, stop by avoiding areas that might provide and check the vehicle through the windows. vehicle occupants easy escape routes (hills, Control the rear occupants’ hands by having bridges, curves), avoiding areas with soft them place them on the back of the front seat. shoulders and high-volume traffic, and selecting a well-lit area that provides maximum Other options are to approach from the cover and plenty of space. In addition, passenger-side or to have the driver (or all continually communicate with your dispatcher. occupants) exit the vehicle.

The Stop Phase If a stop escalates to a high-risk incident, As you bring your vehicle to a stop, unbuckle consider the following emergency procedures: your seatbelt, unlock your door, and roll down • Put as much distance between you and the your window in order to tactically react should suspect as quickly as possible. an occupant of the vehicle exit and approach your vehicle. Leave the engine running, and • Look for a position that gives you a tactical put the transmission in park. Choose the advantage. appropriate vehicle position depending on • If you can reach your vehicle, try to retreat the number of officers in your vehicle and on by backing away from the threat, but be whether or not there is a backup unit on the sure to straighten the front wheels of your scene: vehicle before backing up. • Communicate with your partner and your The In-line Position • position your vehicle dispatcher immediately when you recognize behind the stopped vehicle with your front a threat. wheels turned out. Offset Position • offset your vehicle to the left Closure Phase of the stopped vehicle with your wheels turned The threat involved in a vehicle stop does out. not end until the officer releases the stopped Angled Position • angle toward the center of vehicle. The stopped vehicle should depart the road with your wheels straight. before the officer.

DISSEMINATION RESTRICTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT 27 RISS RESOURCES RISS Officer Safety Website VALOR Program and others ... Officer Down Memorial Page National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Regional Organized Crime Information Center Special Research Report • Police Ambush

Sources of Information http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/09/who_is_eric_frein.html “Who is Eric Frein?” Associated Press, by David Singleton and Terrie Morgan-Besecker, Sept. 28, 2014 http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/06/us/law-officers-ambush-killings/ “Ambush killlings of lawmen part of increase in slain police” CNN, April 6, 2013, by Michael Martinez http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/fatal-ambushes-targeting-polic “Fatal Ambushes Targeting Police Increase” USA Today, Dec. 23, 2011, by Kevin Johnson http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/08/police_ambushes_a_growing_fear_opinion.html “Police ambushes are a growing fear: Opinion” New Jersey Star-Ledger, Aug. 4, 2014, by Craig Floyd CEO of NLEOMF http://www.wfmz.com/news/Regional-Poconos-Coal/police-reveal-contents-of-eric-frein-note-got-a-shot-he-dropped/29015826 “Police reveal contents of Eric Frein note” 69News WFMZ-TV, Oct. 9, 2014 http://www.fbi.gov/philadelphia/press-releases/2014/alleged-shooter-of-two-pennsylvania-state-troopers-added-to-fbis-ten-most- wanted-fugitives-list “Alleged Shooter of Two Pennsylvania State Troopers Added to FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List” Sept. 18, 2014 http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-eric-frein-sighting-nursery-100614-20141006-story.html , Oct. 6, 2014 “Report: Police recover alleged Eric Frein letter” http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/05/accused-pennsylvania-cop-killer-may-have-used-internet-to-help-evade-searchers/ “Accused Pennsylvania cop killer may have used Internet to help evade searchers” FoxNews.com, Nov. 5, 2014 http://www.odmp.org/officer/22183-corporal-bryon-keith-dickson-ii Officer Down Memorial Page http://www.policeone.com/explosives-eod/articles/7622648-Police-Pa-ambush-suspect-is-making-errors/ “Police: Pa. ambush suspect is making errors,” Associated Press, by Michael Rubinkam and Kathy Matheson http://www.policeone.com/cop-killer/articles/7563514-Police-Rifle-used-in-deadly-ambush-of-Pa-troopers/ “Police: Rifle used in deadly ambush of Pa. troopers” Associated Press, Sept. 15, 2014, by Michael Rubinkam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGRj8fR75JQ&feature=youtube Kentucky State Police video--Jason Ellis Case, Nov. 7, 2013 KSP encourages the public to submit tips by contacting the KSP Elizabethtown Post at (270) 766-5078 or call the toll free KSP Tip Line at (800) 222-5555. An email address has also been established for tips at [email protected]. http://wfpl.org/post/months-after-fatal-ambush-resolve-still-strong-find-bardstown-officers-killer “Months After Fatal Ambush, Resolve Still Strong to Find Bardstown Officer’s Killer” By Rick Howlett, Sept. 5, 2013 http://wfpl.org/post/bardstown-police-officers-threatened-after-fatal-shooting “Bardstown Police Officers Threatened After Fatal Shooting” by Associated Press, June 11, 2013 http://www.courier-journal.com/longform/news/crime/2014/05/23/bardstown-police-officer-jason-ellis-anniversary/9445715/ “Bardstown officer Jason Ellis’ slaying still a mystery” Louisville Courier-Journal, by Claire Galofaro http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2010221648_memorial07m.html “Slain Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton mourned by community and colleagues” The Seattle Times, Nov. 7, 2009, by Sara Jean Green and Steve Miletich

DISSEMINATION RESTRICTED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT 29 Regional Organized Crime Information Center Special Research Report • Police Ambush

Sources of Information

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/17/justice/louisiana-officers-shot/ “4 men, 3 women arrested in shooting of Louisiana sheriff’s deputies” CNN, Aug. 18, 2012, by staff http://theadvocate.com/news/neworleans/neworleansnews/6720553-123/deputy-shootings-left-deep-scars “Deputy shootings left deep scars in St. John” The Advocate, June 9, 2014, by Claire Galofaro http://online.wsj.com/articles/ax-attack-on-washington-police-car-spurs-copycat-fears “Ax attack on Washington police car spurs copycat fears” Wall Street Journal, Oct. 23, 2014, by Andrew Grossman And Pervaiz Shallwani http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/news/2014/08/28/recent-l-a-shootings-called-open-season-on-law-enforcement.aspx “Recent L.A. Shootings Called ‘Open Season’ on Law Enforcement” PoliceMag, August 28, 2014 http://www.wsj.com/articles/after-police-shootings-protesters-vow-to-continue “Killings of New York Police Officers Spark Backlash to Protests” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 21, 2014, by Heather Haddon http://www.wsj.com/articles/slain-nypd-officers-wenjian-liu-and-rafael-ramos-were-partners-1419139850 “Slain NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu Remembered” WSJ, Dec. 22, 2014, by Mike Vilensky http://www.wsj.com/articles/ismaaiyl-brinsley-suspected-of-shooting-new-york-police-had-criminal-history-ties-to-brooklyn “Ismaaiyl Brinsley Led Life of Trouble Before Attack” WSJ, Dec. 21, 2014, by Rebecca Davis O’Brien http://www.lawofficer.com/article/magazine-feature/ambush-survival “Ambush Survival” Law Officer, Feb. 28, 2007, by Dave Grossi http://media2.wcpo.com/html/exit34/ “Exit 34: The Last Watch of Officer Jason Ellis,” by Jessica Noll of wcpo.com

Officer Jason Ellis Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OfficerJasonEllis https://officersafety.riss.net/ RISS Officer Safety Website https://www.valorforblue.org/ VALOR-Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice https://rocic.riss.net/publications/scm/Pages/default.aspx ROCIC Sovereign Citizen Movement Website

ROCIC Special Research Report “Sovereign Citizen Movement: Extremists Claim to be Beyond the Law”

Ambush Fact Sheet The International Association of Chiefs of Police

This Special Research Report was supported by Grant No. 2014-RS-CX-0008, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Office of Justice Programs also coordinates the activities of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position of ROCIC or the Department of Justice.

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