Spokane7
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December 23, 2009 in City
Officer targeted by gunman was guarding scene of earlier shooting
A gunman fired several rounds at a Spokane police officer early this morning, missing the officer but striking his patrol car.
The shooting occurred as the officer, who has not been identified, was guarding the scene of a shooting several hours earlier in the 1100 block of West Frederick.
The gunman has not been identified, and detectives from the drug, gang and major crimes units are poring over tips, said spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe.
“Just definitely protect yourself,” DeRuwe said. “If they’re going to shoot at us, they’re not going to hesitate to shoot at the community,”
The officer was at Frederick Avenue and Madison Street about 5 a.m. when he spotted a Suburban stolen from the 1600 block of East Rowan minutes earlier and followed it. The Suburban’s owner had gone back inside her home and left the vehicle running to warm it up, police said.
The officer got out of his patrol car and called for backup when the SUV suddenly pulled over on Alice Avenue, police said, and a passenger in the car “fired several rounds directly at him and his patrol car.” It’s unclear where the passenger was in the vehicle.
The officer, who was not injured, wasn’t able to return fire as the vehicle sped away, police said.
Patrol officers found the stolen Suburban abandoned at Dalton and Lincoln. SWAT team members and a police dog searched for the shooter but haven’t found any suspects.
Police think the gunman was involved in an attempted car theft in the 1100 block of East Sanson about 20 minutes before the Suburban was stolen.
In that case, a woman said she was inside her car when two men smashed out the driver’s side window and assaulted her with the grip of a handgun before she drove away. The woman suffered minor injuries.
Police were in the area because of a shooting at 1103 W. Frederick Ave. hours earlier.
An 18-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot in an altercation between two groups in the front yard of the home about 8:45 p.m Tuesday.
Police are investigating if the shooting at the police officer is connected to the earlier shooting.
Anyone with information on the shootings is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Sex trafficking suspects released as probe continues 
liarsinnews on December 23 at 8:55 a.m.
One must think about the SPD and how effective they are in Spokane. Crime seems to be going down through the country except for a few cities, Spokane being one of them. I`ve often wondered why the “Hells Angels” set up shop in the Lilac City. Common sense dictates, if a city`s police department is tough on crime and the thugs breaking the law, maybe they would have looked for greener pastures. (?)
UvulaCrusher on December 23 at 9:24 a.m.
Well, Dick, maybe you should see if YOU have what it takes to be one of the men in blue. You’d most likely be too busy changing your underwear and crying out for your mommy after the 3 shots were fired at you, to get a competent description and radio it back. What does your post have to do with the story as posted?
dialectica on December 23 at 10:42 a.m.
Dick — civil discourse is something to be cherished, but your comment masquerading as a question is so stomach churning it’s offensive.
We should be thankful no one has yet been hurt or worse, and trust that the SPD will demonstrate the level of professionalism we as a community should expect and is generally delivered by its officers on a day-to-day basis.
Yes, it’s clear there’s issues that desperately need attention in Spokane, including a greater commitment on the part of the SPD to acknowledge and confront its problems and occasional mistakes.
But those problems and mistakes tend to be the exception rather than the rule, and comments like yours are so baseless they risk ruining any chance of legitimate discussion.
SugarShane on December 23 at 11:56 a.m.
What?!? A guy named Dick being a cop? Hmm, that does seem appropriate. Of course, everytime I see a cop I say “Hey Dick”.
terrymr on December 23 at 12:52 p.m.
fbhkymom,
The hells angels are on Sprague … or at least they were last time I was paying attention. Theres a sign that says “Hells angels motorcycle club” or something to that effect.
westside on December 23 at 2:40 p.m.
The last 3 months have been nasty for SPD, numerous robberies, shootings, knifings,home invasions etc. Spokane seems to be loaded with the un-desireables…and the courts can’t do any thing…jails are full and no room for more..so..the crooks have free reign.
tomharg on December 23 at 2:47 p.m.
The Spokane police and County Sheriffs deputies would be far more effective if they were staffed adequately. Last time I looked at the statistics, the police were staffed at something like 1.2 or 1.3 commissioned officers per thousand residents, and the county was lower than that. This has been true for at least ten years. Most other cities of our size and larger have been staffed at somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 officers per thousand. When an outfit like the cops is short handed, they have to concentrate on putting out the fires and don’t have adequate capability to prevent those fires in the first place. This all comes under the heading of TANSTAAFL — There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch; or, You Get What You Pay For and You Have to Pay for What You Get. When citizens vote to reduce their taxes, and there is no other income source, this is what happens.
zelda on December 23 at 3:28 p.m.
Info from one of the TV stations’ websites says the Suburban was stolen while the owner, who lives on Rowan, let the vehicle warm up. I’m not casting blame on the theft victim here, but geez louise, if you live on Rowan you should never leave your vehicle running and unattended.
I won’t even drive down Rowan at night. Holy Family Hospital should install a speed lane in its ER — four gunshots or less. While I’m glad to know Spokane has great trauma docs and nurses, it’s not a good sign for public safety that they have so much experience in bullet and knife wounds. Most of the North Side is starting to seem like a combat zone. It’s the poorest district in the state and has all the bad things that come with abject poverty.
liarsinnews on December 23 at 9:05 p.m.
TO: fbhkymom & dialectica: I`ll attempt to answer your questions. I note, someone has pointed out to you fbhkymom, the location of the hells angels building. They have a sign in there window that says, “honesty matters” is ironic. I`ll refresh your memory regarding the prosecuting attorney who asked for protection in a case he was involved with, re hells angels. Not receiving any he resigned and moved away from Spo0kane. Its a matter of public record. Your blah blah, about the conviction rate versus the acquittal rate is apples and oranges and has nothing to do with my comment. My source for crime stats is Sperling inc, a agency many local, county, and State governments use for info. Too my knowledge, Spokane does not use them. In fact, I questioned Sperling about erroneous stats Spokane used regarding the number of murders. Ah, the inner workings of the SPD. I must preference my answer first. I retired voluntarily after more than 33 years of service as a railroad executive, a wholly owned subsidiary of United States Steel. I was on the USS payroll.
Now, to the inner workings. Since migrating to Spokane after retirement I noted so much corruption I decided to help see what I could do about it. A few years after I tried to help, the SPD had a unmarked car tail me. Its been made a matter of public record, but yeah, I know about the inner workings of the SPD. I`ve read both Sheriff Bamonte`s book and the Book, Son re Kevin Coe. You remember, the ass`t chief said, “the women on the south hill should learn to relax and enjoy it”, and with the inner workings, nothing was done about his statement.,
Enough already.,
liarsinnews on December 23 at 9:22 p.m.
A note to dialectica:
The SPD earned the bad reputation they are being bombarded with, PERIOD!!
dialectica on December 23 at 10:27 p.m.
Dick, I agree that SPD’s troubled reputation is the result of its own actions.
My problem with your earlier post was the flawed connection you tried to make between that reputation and a car thief’s decision to open fire on a patrol cop. We as a community have a right to expect that SPD will handle this case professionally, which by all accounts so far appears to be the case.
lewis8457 on December 23 at 11:41 p.m.
I vote no on every tax increase that will benefit the SPD. Reason plain and simply they can murder with out accountability and that is unjust in our society and down right despicable of a police officer. When they want to walk the line again I will vote for all the money they want.
liarsinnews on December 24 at 1:02 a.m.
dialectica: My point I think was valid. Seems to me, Spokane has more than its share of hoodlums. I don`t think the hells angels would have set up shop in the Lilac City if we didn`t have the reputation of being soft. There is story after story where the SPD did nothing about some serious stuff. How about the Federal Judge in river front park, where nothing was done and the pervert commits a very serious sex crime? I have example after example where nothing was done. It just might be if the SPD had a better reputation, some of the clubs may not have taken up residence here and some thugs would live elsewhere.
I did not respond to “UvulaCrusher” re his remarks, saying I`d be “crying out to mommy after the 3 shots were fired at you” etc. nonsense. How does he know whether or not I`ve been in the line of fire. I`m 80 years old and have seen a lot of bad stuff in my day.
TP39 on December 29 at 1:45 p.m.
I, for one, and as a non resident of Spokane or your great state say thank God this officer wasn’t hit when the jerk shot at him.
Police Officers in every town, city, and state are mere humans not super human individuals. The have faults just as the non LE individuals do. All professions have some good and bad people doing the job they were hired to do. But don’t let the few tarnish your image of the many.
I pray this case is solved and the person(s) responsible is incarcerated for a very long time. I think he/she/they are a danger to society at large, not just a danger to the safety of local police.