Officer Katie Thyne killed in the line of duty, was Navy veteran from New Hampshire

‘It’s OK to cry’: Emotional Newport News police chief calls officer killed in line of duty a hero

WAVY
by: Sarah Fearing
Posted: Jan 23, 2020

“There is a lot of healing that needs to take place. There is no timetable for that,” said Chief Drew.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew holds a news conference to provide details about a deadly traffic stop Thursday night. Officer Katie Thyne died in the line of duty.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – Speaking through tears, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew identified the officer who died in the line of duty Thursday night as Officer Katie Thyne.

Chief Drew provided new information about the investigation and Officer Thyne during a Friday morning news conference.

Officer Thyne was originally from New Hampshire. She was a Navy veteran and a reservist. She joined the Newport News Police Department in 2018 and was assigned to the South Precinct. She leaves behind her mother and stepfather, a brother, her two-year-old daughter, and a loving partner. She was 24-years-old.

While the driver’s side door was open, Chief Drew said the driver accelerated. Officer Thyne was unable to get out of the way and was dragged for about a block. The driver crashed into a tree at Walnut Avenue, pinning Officer Thyne. She died from her injuries at Sentara Norfolk General.
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UPDATE

‘Raegan will know her mother’: Friend, day care provider remembers Officer Katie Thyne

WTKR
BY CHELSEA DONOVAN
JANUARY 27, 2020

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - "When I leaned her over the casket, I said, 'Kiss your mommy,' and she did and it broke my heart," said Jenifer Locey.

Locey has been providing day care for 2-year-old Raegan Thyne since she was born and had also become great friends with Officer Katie Thyne.

"It's so hard to look at Raegan and know she is not going to see her anymore," said Locey.

Locey described the toddler as innocent, bubbly and always smiling.

"She is just like Katie - always happy, just a spitfire. She is the favorite at daycare," Locey told News 3.
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Long line of police cars escort fallen officer Katie Thyne home

Weymouth Police Officer-Iraq Veteran killed in line of duty

Massachusetts police officer, bystander die from gunshot wounds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, July 15, 2018

Grimes described Chesna as a 42-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran who leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 4 and 9.

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A Massachusetts police officer and bystander died Sunday from wounds sustained when a suspect allegedly took the officer’s gun and fired following a vehicle crash and a foot chase.

Authorities said Weymouth officer Michael Chesna was shot multiple times by his own fire arm before 8 a.m. Sunday, and died from the injures at South Shore Hospital.

Officials said an unidentified elderly woman also died after being hit by stray bullets in a nearby home.

Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes said the shooting suspect, Emmanuel Lopes, was in custody. No additional information about Lopes has been released.
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Iraq veteran survived war, police work but not son's gun

Police arrest Plainfield teen suspected of killing his parents at Central Michigan University
Chicago Tribune
Matthew Walberg, Angie Leventis Lourgos and John Keilman
March 3, 2018

The victims were identified by authorities as Davis’ parents, James Eric Davis Sr. and Diva Jeneen Davis. Davis Sr. was a police officer in west suburban Bellwood and an Illinois National Guard veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Diva Davis’s Facebook page identified her as a real estate broker; friends said she was also a breast cancer survivor and had worked as a flight attendant.

After a nearly daylong manhunt, authorities took into custody a college student from the Chicago suburbs who police said fatally shot his parents on the campus of Central Michigan University.

Part-time Bellwood police Officer James Eric Davis Sr. He and wife Diva Davis were shot and killed, allegedly by their son, James Eric Davis Jr., at Central Michigan University. (Bellwood Police Department)

The university and local police said 19-year-old James Eric Davis Jr., of Plainfield, was taken into custody after being seen passing through the campus after midnight Saturday.
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New Smyrna Beach Officer and Veteran Killed in Car Crash

Off-duty New Smyrna Beach police officer killed in crash

WESH 2 News

November 2, 2017

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — An off-duty New Smyrna Beach police officer was killed Thursday morning after his car went off the road, rolled over and struck a tree. The Florida Highway Patrol said Josh Calverley, 29, was traveling northbound on U.S. 1 around 1:45 a.m. when he veered off the road and into the median. 

Troopers said he overcorrected, rolled over and hit a tree. Calverley, who lives in South Daytona, was an officer for the New Smyrna Beach Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran. 

He would have been with department for two years in December. Calverley was in his personal vehicle at the time of the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.
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Police Officer Killed, 3 Wounded in Florida

Suspected cop killer faces judge and murder charge; Kissimmee police seek person of interest

As deputies approached Miller, the 21-year Marine Corps veteran reached for his waistband, O’Dell said. He was tackled by a deputy and taken into custody.

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UPDATE

6 Police Officers Shot in Florida and Pennsylvania, 2 Killed and 4 Wounded

NBC News

Six police officers were shot, two fatally, in three separate incidents in Florida and Pennsylvania late Friday, officials said.

Two officers were shot in Kissimmee around 9:30 p.m., just south of the theme park hub of Orlando, central Florida. They both later died from their wounds.

In Jacksonville, two officers were critically wounded in a shoot-out, while two state troopers were also shot in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Officers Matthew Baxter, left, and Sam Howard, right, who were both shot and killed in Kissimmee, Florida, on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017. Kissimmee Police Department


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1 police officer killed, 5 others injured in 3 shootings in Florida and Pennsylvania

CBS News

August 19, 2017

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- One police officer was killed and three wounded in nighttime shootings in two Florida cities where the officers were responding to suspected drug activity and reports of a suicide attempt, police said Saturday.

In Pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot outside a small-town store in Fairchance, south of Pittsburgh. State police say the troopers, both taken to hospitals after the Friday night shooting in Fairchance, were in stable condition. 

One officer was killed and another gravely injured late Friday night in Kissimmee in central Florida just south of the theme park hub of Orlando. Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell said at a news conference Saturday that a suspect, Everett Miller, was arrested several hours after the shootings.

He faces a first-degree murder charge. Authorities originally said they believed there were four suspects, but the chief said no other arrests are anticipated.

The other two officers were injured a couple of hours later in Jacksonville, one of them shot in both hands and the other in the stomach. The shooter in Jacksonville was shot and killed when police returned fire.

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Police Officer Killed in Virginia Was Also A Veteran

Officer killed at Va. bus terminal was Marine veteran; Police ID gunman
Associated Press
By Alanna Durkin Richer and Alan Suderman
April 1, 2016

Police say the slain trooper, the father of two children, was a native of Jackson, Michigan, and Marine veteran who had served on the force in Jackson and Newport News, Virginia.

Chad Dermyer stands beside his bride Michelle Dermyer in November 2000. The Marine veteran was fatally shot Thursday, March 31, 2016, at a bus terminal in Virginia. FACEBOOK

RICHMOND, Va. — A 34-year-old Illinois man fatally shot a Virginia state trooper at a busy bus terminal before the gunman was killed by other troopers, authorities said Friday.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller identified the shooter as James Brown III, of Aurora, Ill. Police did not give a motive for the shooting.

Brown shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, multiple times Thursday in Richmond before he was killed by two other troopers, police said. Dermyer had been participating with about a dozen other troopers in a training exercise at the bus station when a brief encounter with the gunman quickly turned violent, police said.
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Red Bull Raised For Carlos Puente-Morales, Police Officer and Veteran

Red Bull raised to honor fallen Des Moines officer
The Des Moines Register
MacKenzie Elmer
April 1, 2016

Senior police officer Jason Hays wanted to do something to commemorate fellow Des Moines officer Carlos Puente-Morales' service as a soldier. The fallen officer, who died Saturday in a crash on Interstate 80, served under Hays in the military and then alongside him as his brother in blue.

Photo: Des Moines Police Department

Hays requested a second flag be added at half-staff to the pole outside the Des Moines police station Thursday afternoon. The Red Bull, a symbol worn by the 34th Infantry Division of the National Guard since World War I, now flies just below the American flag.

"To us, it has a lot of significance," Hays said. "We painted red bulls all over Afghanistan. It's a patch we wear on our shoulders."

Puente-Morales was deployed twice overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan for the Iowa Army National Guard. Hays was his captain, but said Puente-Morales stood out among the hundred or so soldiers under his command.
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Iraq Veteran Killed In Line of Duty As Police Officer

Greenville police officer killed; suspect shot, killed himself
Greenville Online
Anna Lee and Elizabeth Sanders
March 18, 2016

Officer Allen Jacobs died in a hail of gunfire Friday afternoon while chasing a “confirmed and self-described gang member” who then turned the gun on himself, Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said.

Jacobs, a 28-year-old officer and decorated Iraq War veteran, leaves behind a pregnant wife and two young sons, Miller said.

“We lose. We hurt. We ache,” Miller said. “No one wants to lose their officers.”

Addressing the media several hours later at City Hall in downtown Greenville, Miller said Jacobs’ gun was still holstered when he was shot by the suspect, 17-year-old Deontea Perry Mackey, about 12:30 p.m. behind a house in the Nicholtown community.

Jacobs and his partner were on patrol when they spotted Mackey on Rebecca Street and pulled over for a field interview, Miller said. The police chief said they weren’t trying to serve a warrant as he had earlier stated.
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Hundreds Mourn Loss of Officer Charles "G I Joe" Gliniewicz

Funeral of Illinois police officer draws hundreds of mourners 
AOL News
BRENDAN O'BRIEN
Sep 7th 2015

Gliniewicz retired as a first sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve and his awards as a police officer included a medal of valor. He also was involved in a youth law enforcement training program for about a decade.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Illinois on Monday for the funeral of police officer Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, who was shot last week while pursuing three suspects who are still on the loose.

Police officers from nearby towns were among those who filled the Antioch Community High School auditorium to pay last respects to Gliniewicz, an officer for the village of Fox Lake in northwestern Illinois. Two overflow rooms were also nearly full.

Outside the high school, hundreds of people lined the sun-washed streets to watch the funeral procession. They held American flags and tied blue ribbons around their wrists as a tribute to Gliniewicz.

Some held homemade signs saying: "Rest in Peace, Joe." Two fire-truck ladders held a large U.S. flag that waved in the wind.

Gliniewicz, a decorated 30-year veteran of the Fox Lake Police Department and the father of four boys who was known as "G.I. Joe," was killed on Tuesday. He was 52.
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Police Office Shot and Killed, Manhunt Searches for Killers

Manhunt In Fox Lake After Police Officer Shot And Killed
CBS Chicago
September 1, 2015

CHICAGO (CBS) — A manhunt was underway in far north suburban Fox Lake, after a police officer was shot and killed while chasing three suspects on foot.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said an officer was shot Tuesday morning near Rollins Road and Route 59.

At a late-morning news conference, Lake County Sheriff’s Det. Chris Covelli said, around 7:50 a.m., the officer radioed he was pursuing three suspects, after looking into their “suspicious activity.” Police lost radio contact with the officer, who was later found with a gunshot wound. Shortly after the news conference, Covelli confirmed that the officer died.

Covelli said police were conducting a ground and air search for three suspects — two white males and a black male. Unconfirmed dispatch reports indicated the suspects might have taken the officer’s gun and pepper spray. Police did not provide a more detailed description of the suspects.

People in the area were being told to stay inside, and to report any suspicious activity to 911.
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Louisiana State Police Officer Killed, Witnesses Took Down Gunman

Louisiana trooper dies after being shot in head, police say 
FoxNews.com
Published August 24, 2015

This undated photo shows Louisiana State Trooper Steven Vincent

(Louisiana State Police)

A Louisiana state trooper died Monday from injuries he suffered when he was shot in the head Sunday afternoon by a man whose pickup truck had run into a ditch, and who got out of the truck with a sawed-off shotgun.

"As an organization, we are heartbroken over this senseless and tragic death," the police department wrote in a Facebook post.

Police video showed 43-year-old Senior Trooper Steven Vincent, a 13-year state police veteran in southwest Louisiana and member of a law enforcement family, trying to talk a man out of the vehicle stuck sideways in a ditch, Col. Mike Edmonson said Sunday night.

He said two or three drivers stopped immediately, one of them making a quick turnaround on the two-lane highway.

That driver wrestled the shotgun away from Daigle, and, with the others, got him to the ground, and snapped Vincent's handcuffs on his wrists, Edmonson said. As far as he knew, he said, the good Samaritans were unhurt.
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Citizens Support Police Because Blue Lives Matter Too

'Blue lives matter' rally held in Denver for police
KUSA.com
Ryan Haarer
December 27, 2014

Moment of silence in Denver for slain NY officers.

(Photo: Ryan Haarer)

DENVER- A crowd gathered at Civic Center Park on Saturday to show their support for law enforcement after months of criticism and attacks on police.

The rally is one of many being held across the country. Many were started through social media using the twitter hashtag #BlueLivesMatter.

"They are mostly good people who actually care about their communities and it is hard to see other people tear them down on a daily basis," said Kim Snetzinger who showed up to participate in the rally.

Those in law enforcement will tell you the job has always been dangerous, but it hasn't always been so thankless. This year's events involving the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner brought on an outpouring of anger towards police for what many see as excessive force.

"You can always find somebody to say something negative about you. But we say thank you. Thank you for running towards the gun shots. Thank you for securing our neighborhoods," said Pastor Larry Stevenson, exciting the crowd.
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Organizers hope Sea of Blue is start of national movement
WKYC Staff
December 28, 2014

CLEVELAND -- They called it the Sea of Blue and that's exactly what it was as thousands packed downtown Saturday to rally for police officers.

They covered Public Square as supporters were not only rallying for the officers killed in the line of duty, but every officer and even for people killed at the hands of officers.
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Sea of blue grief: 25,000 cops attend funeral for fallen NYPD officer
FOX.com
December 27, 2014

Thousands of police officers from across the country assembled in winter sunshine in New York City for the funeral of Rafael Ramos, a police officer shot to death with his partner in an ambush last week.

The officers in dress blue uniforms stood outside the Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens for the Saturday morning services. The sea of blue stretched more than six city blocks.

In his eulogy, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered the city's condolences to the Ramos family.

"All of this city is grieving and grieving for so many reasons," he said. "But the most personal is that we lost such a good man."

Vice President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to Ramos' two sons.

“You’ve shown tremendous courage these past days,” he said.

He said Ramos and his partner Wenjian Liu were officers who were committed, passionate and vigilant.
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Tarpon Springs Police Officer Charles "Charlie K" Kondek Was Father of 5

Slain Tarpon Springs police officer was a father of 5
Bay News 9
By Chris Hopper, Sally Mamdooh, Web Staff, Team Coverage
December 21, 2014

TARPON SPRINGS

A Tarpon Springs police officer was shot and killed overnight, and a suspect has been taken into custody, authorities said.

Veteran officer Charles "Charlie K" Kondek was fatally shot sometime after 2 a.m. near 199 Grand Blvd., a few blocks from the city's Sponge Docks. He was a father of five and former New York City policeman.

The Tarpon Springs Police Department released the officer's name on its Facebook page around 11:15 a.m., saying "our hearts and prayers go out to the Kondek Family and our deepest sympathy."

Investigators are also working a nearby second scene on Athens Street, where the shooter fled in a white Hyundai sedan. The shooter crashed into a power pole and snapped it and then crashed into a pickup truck, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Cecila Barreda said.

Officials said Kondek had arrived at the scene in response to a call, but gave no other details. Kondek was wounded and transported to Florida Hospital North Pinellas, where he later died.
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Veteran killed in bar loved family

Daniel Ramirez: Veteran killed in bar loved family
The News Messenger
Mar. 11, 2014

FREMONT — Daniel Ramirez, 25, was known for being a dedicated family man and a go-getter.

“By the age of 25, he accomplished more than anyone I know,” said his sister, Belinda Cordi.

Daniel, a U.S. Army veteran and Fremont Ross graduate, was one of three people killed in a Sunday morning shooting at Last Call Bar on West State Street.

He left behind one daughter and two sons — Annalicia, 7, Gabriel, 6, and Isaiah, 2, and a wife, Veronica Ramirez.

Daniel and Veronica met in junior high and started dating when they were 15 years old. They married in August 2009.
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Triple murder suspect held without bond Ramiro Arreola, 27, sat among the crowd. Arreola was shot in right shoulder during the incident. He was flown to Promedica Toledo hospital, where he was treated then released.

He survived, unlike 25-year-old Daniel Ramirez, 28-year-old Ramiro Sanchez and 26-year-old Elmore police officer Jose Chavez.

Big rig driver looking at pictures killed officer in Arizona

Report: Big-rig driver in crash was looking at phone pics
Associated Press
Thu Oct 31, 2013

TUCSON — A big-rig driver allegedly was looking at cellphone photos of women when he crashed into emergency vehicles on a Yuma County freeway. Authorities say the May 6 crash killed an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer.

The Arizona Daily Star says it obtained records of the crash from the DPS via a public records request.

Officer Tim Huffman was killed in his patrol vehicle when it was struck as he was writing a report at an Interstate 8 accident site.
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Police officer killed in car crash was also a Camp Lejeune Marine

Former Camp Lejeune Marine, police officer dies in Asheville crash
JD News
By Daily News staff
Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013

An Asheville police officer who died Tuesday after his cruiser plunged off a bridge was formerly a Camp Lejeune Marine.

Asheville Police Chief William Anderson said Officer Robert Bingaman died when his car ran off a bridge on Interstate 240 around 1 p.m. The car landed along Riverside Drive.

Leaving active duty on Jan. 1, 2000 as a sergeant, Bingaman was a mechanic stationed with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines aboard Camp Lejeune, according to Marine officials.

Bingaman was transported to Mission Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after, officials said.

There was no one else in the cruiser and no one else was hurt. Anderson said he did not believe any other vehicles were involved, but could not say whether Bingaman was in pursuit or responding to another accident at the time.
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Mississippi Police officer and suspect killed at Jackson Police Station

UPDATE
AP source: Video shows Miss. suspect shoot detective, self
By Holbrook Mohr
Associated Press
Authorities have a video from a police interrogation room that shows a murder suspect shooting a detective to death before killing himself with the officer's gun, a person with knowledge of the investigation said Saturday.

Officer, suspect killed during police station interview
By Hasani Gittens and Ian Johnston
NBC News
April 5, 2013

A police officer and a murder suspect were shot dead as the accused man was being questioned in the police headquarters in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday.

The incident began when cops brought the suspect to the headquarters building downtown Thursday afternoon, Jackson Police Chief Rebecca Coleman said.

“He was being interviewed on the third floor of the police department,” Coleman said.

“Later we heard that … shots had been fired and upon our arrival we found the suspect is deceased and we have a police officer that’s deceased."

NBC station WLBT reported said the officer who was killed was identified by police as Eric Smith, a homicide detective who was married to a fellow Jackson Police Department officer.

They have two children.
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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.
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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.
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PTSD Murder Trial Could Have National Repercussions

War Veteran with PTSD Murder Trial Could Have National Repercussions, Experts Say
Case of the shooting of Wauwatosa police officer Jennifer Sebena by her spouse, Benjamin Sebena is not cut and dried, say a criminologist who advises and teaches the FBI and former State Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske.
Fort Bragg Patch
By Jim Price

To the legal layperson, the case of the murder of Wauwatosa Police Officer Jennifer Sebena may appear to be open and shut.

Jennifer’s husband, Benjamin Sebena, admitted to investigators in statements that he had stalked her for days, had lain in wait for her on Christmas Eve morning, and shot her five times in the head.

The two guns presumed used to kill her – one of them her service weapon, the other a rare type that matches a shell casing found at the scene – were found hidden in the Sebenas’ basement ceiling.
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