Officer Down!

[LWM]

Over the years I have seen way too many Law Enforcment Officers lose their lives to the scum they are trying to protect you and I from. This thread is to recognize those Officers for their service and dedication, they will be missed.

[LWM]

2 Tampa officers killed in Florida shooting (June 29th, 2010 @ 7:19am)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Two Tampa police officers were killed in an early Tuesday shooting during a traffic stop that has prompted a massive manhunt for two people.

Officer David Curtis pulled over a red Toyota Camry around 2:15 a.m. because it didn't have a visible tag. He called for back up after a background check revealed the male passenger in the car was wanted on a misdemeanor charge for writing a worthless check in Jacksonville, Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

The two officers approached the passenger side of the car. Six minutes after the traffic stop, a witness called to say Curtis and Officer Jeffrey Kocab had been shot. Authorities arrived to find them lying on the ground. Kocab and Curtis, both 31, were pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

Helicopters, police dogs and dozens of officers in bullet proof vests searched for the passenger, who is believed to be the shooter. A female who was driving the car was also being sought, McElroy said.

Tampa police said they were searching for Dontae Rashawn Morris, 24, and Cortnee Nicole Brantly, 22, who they described as persons of interest.

Police cordoned off an apartment building a few miles away, but no other details were available.

"We know they are armed and extremely dangerous," McElroy said. "We don't know what else they're capable of."

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Mayor Pam Iorio announced Kocab's death at a news conference at the hospital where the officers were taken. Dozens of somber officers filled the hospital.

Kocab had been on the force for 14 months. His wife is nine months pregnant with their first child, police said.

Curtis, a father of four boys, had nearly four years with the department. He remained on life support as doctors prepared to harvest his organs at the family's request.

"They both said how much Dave and Jeff loved being a Tampa police officer. They both said their loved ones loved going to work everyday...that it was the best job in the world," Mayor Pam Iorio said of the officers' families.

"It's just been heart wrenching as the family members have said goodbye to their loved ones and then it's been heart wrenching to see the officers and how much they respect them," she said.

This is the region's second incident of law enforcers being shot in less than a week. Two Polk County deputies were shot early Friday in Lakeland after stopping a man riding a bicycle. They are expected to recover.

[NeilSmith]

Sometimes I'm sorry to say Tampa is my hometown.

[LWM]

1 officer dead, 2 wounded in S. PHX shooting
by Sandra Haros, Bob McClay/KTAR and Associated Press (July 29th, 2010 @ 7:53am)

PHOENIX -- One Chandler police officer was killed and two others wounded in a gunbattle on a south Phoenix street.
Bullets started flying as the officers conducted an undercover drug operation, near 19th Avenue and Southern, about 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Six suspects were involved. Two died at the scene, two others were shot and two others taken into custody, according to Phoenix police.

Chandler police were still trying to sort out the details of the shooting Thursday. They said more information and the names of the officers probably would be released Thursday afternoon.

Mark Spencer of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association said it is common for police in one Valley city to do operations in another.

"My understanding is it was just a narcotics operation. It was a buy bust. That's not unusual at all, going from town to town."

Spencer was among numerous law enforcement officers who gathered at St. Joseph's Hospital after hearing about the shooting. He said officers were dealing with a tough loss.

"Chandler officers are responding to a family member down. It's not an officer member down to them. It's a family member down."

Several clergy members also spent the evening counseling family members.

"This is a great loss," said Phoenix Police Sgt. Steve Martos. "You know, we have officers who come out here every day. They wear the badge. They come out to work. You can talk to any officer on the street -- they come out here and they do this for one reason."

"When something like this happens, it's like a family member who we've lost."

TV news helicopters showed the three officers being taken out of the home on stretchers about 7 p.m. Wednesday. The officer who died was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

[LWM]

Five charged in officer's death
by KTAR.com (July 30th, 2010 @ 7:03am)

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Five men have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of a Chandler police officer during an undercover drug bust in south Phoenix.
Officer Carlos Ledesma, 34, a father of two, died Thursday night in a gunbattle inside a home near 19th Avenue and Southern. Two other officers were wounded.

Thadika Singleton, 38, John Webb, 37, Doarnell Jackson, 35, Jerry Wayne Cockhearn, 25, and Eldridge Gittens, 34, all were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, possession of marijuana for sale and burglary. Gittens also faces weapons charges.

One suspect remains hospitalized and charges have not yet been filed against him. Two other suspects were killed during the gunbattle.

One of the wounded officers was released from a Phoenix hospital Thursday. The other remains in stable condition. Their names have not been released.

The three Chandler officers were trying to buy a large quantity of marijuana.

Chandler police said it's unclear what went wrong in the undercover operation. They said they are investigating the possibility that the drug dealers planned to rob the officers, who had hundreds of thousands of dollars on them.

An account for Ledesma's family, set up by Chandler police, has been created at Wells Fargo Bank. It's called the "The Ledesma Memorial Fund."

[LWM]

Funeral services for Chandler Police Detective Carlos Ledesma, killed in the line of duty on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, will be as follows:

Memorial Service
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
10 AM
Mission Community Church
4450 East Elliot Road
Gilbert, AZ 85234

Internment
Valley of the Sun Cemetery
10940 East Chandler Heights Road
Chandler, AZ 85248

A memorial fund for his family has been set up in the name of “The Ledesma Family Memorial Fund” at Wells Fargo Bank.