WAStateC.O.P.S.

Washington State EOW 06/26

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06/26/2003: Deputy Saul Gallegos, Chelan County Sheriff's Office

Deputy Gallegos pursued a man named José Sánchez Guillén to a home along Highway 150 in Manson. He suspected the 21-year-old was driving with a suspended license. Saúl got out of his patrol car and went to the rear of the home where Sánchez Guillén wrestled Saúl’s firearm away from him and then fatally shot him.

For more on Deputy Gallegos: https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/local/remembering-sa-l-gallegos/article_f3190d85-5261-5ed2-9552-426aa5e6ea0c.html

Washington State EOW 06/25

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06/25/1895: Deputy Marshal Louis Conlee, Sprague PD

Deputy Conlee was taking a prisoner to Ritzville from Sprague, on horseback. The prisoner concealed a small handgun in his boot, retrieving it when Deputy Conlee was not looking. After shooting Conlee, he hid the body in some sage brush. His body was not discovered till a few days later. The suspect was apprehended in Montana and returned to face charges. He was convicted of the murder.

For more on Deputy Conlee: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45864144/louis-a-conlee

Washington State EOW 06/24

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06/24/1916: Officer Michael Tynan, City of Spokane Police Department
06/24/1982: Det. Sgt. Samuel Hicks, King County Sheriff's Office
06/24/2018: Special Agent Timothy Ensley, Homeland Security

*Officer Tynan was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for an earlier shooting. He and several other officers had gone to the man's home and told him to give up. The suspect responded by telling them to leave or he would shoot them. As the officers backed away the suspect opened the door and started shooting, striking Officer Tynan in the back. The man was eventually arrested and charged with Officer Tynan's murder.

*Sgt. Hicks and his partner were investigating a homicide and followed a suspect to a secluded address in King County. When the detectives pulled up, the man opened fire on their car with a .308 caliber semi-automatic rifle. Hicks was hit as he dove out of the car and sought cover behind a pumphouse. A single gunshot wound to the upper chest killed Hicks, the bullet ripping through his 'bullet-proof' vest.

*Ensley, with survivors in Washington State, died following a disease he was exposed to while he was on a temporary duty assignment in Indonesia. He contracted Dengue fever and was medically evacuated to Singapore. The advanced medical intervention was not successful, and Ensley succumbed to his illness.

For more on Officer Tynan: https://www.spokanecounty.org/1388/Roll-Call-of-Honor

For more on Det. Sgt. Hicks: https://www.historylink.org/File/3783 AND https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/25/Wounded-cop-killer-eludes-manhunt/4238393825600/

For more on Agent Ensley, with survivors in Washington State: https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/memoriam-special-agent-timothy-ensley/

Washington State EOW 06/22

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06/22/2002: Deputy Richard Herzog, King County Sheriff's Office (Newcastle)

On Saturday, June 22, 2002, an out-of-control male was endangering citizens. Deputy Herzog, an Army veteran, responded to the disturbance on Coal Creek Parkway and a struggle ensued.

Witnesses and police say the deputy got out of his car and attempted to calm the man, who had been wandering through traffic and had stood in front of a Metro bus. Unknown to Herzog, the naked and highly agitated man had been released 11 days earlier from a prison, where he had been serving time for assaulting a police officer.

The deputy sprayed the naked man with pepper spray to try to subdue him.

According to witnesses, the two scuffled and the man grabbed Herzog's .40-caliber semiautomatic G***k handgun.

Herzog retreated, and police and witnesses say the assailant repeatedly shot him. Some witnesses said the man stood over the fallen deputy and fired several times from nearly point-blank range. Herzog was shot to death with his own gun.

For more on Deputy Herzog: https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020624/deputy24m/suspect-in-deputy-killing-just-ended-prison-term

Washington State EOW 06/21

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06/21/1974: Officer James Forbes, Seattle Police Department Seattle Police Officers Guild Seattle Police Foundation
06/21/1974: Officer James St. DeLore, Seattle Police Department Seattle Police Officers Guild Seattle Police Foundation

On June 21, 1974, a patrol officer from the Georgetown Precinct was scheduled to be the Helicopter Observer on Air 3. He and Officer James M. Forbes, from the Georgetown Precinct, had swapped days. Officer James H. St. DeLore was the pilot of Air 3.

Air 3 was looking for a stolen vehicle around Empire Way S. (MLK Way S.) and S. Kenyon, SPD Communications received a disturbance call involving a weapon in the 9300 block of 37 Ave. S. Patrol units and Air 3 responded. Air 3 arrived overhead and circled the scene twice.

As the first patrol units were arriving at the scene around 3:45 p.m., Air 3 collided with a Cessna 150 airplane which was preparing to land at Boeing Field. The collision occurred at an altitude of about 800 feet. Air 3 and the Cessna both fell to the ground. The police helicopter hit the roof of a house at 9302 37 Ave. S. It came to rest in the front yard and burst into flames.

Both officers aboard Air 3 were killed upon impact with the ground. Both occupants of the Cessna were also killed. One of the patrol officers at the scene was the officer who had swapped days with Officer Forbes.

For more: https://seattlepoliceofficers.com/fallen-officers/ #1970---1979

Washington State EOW 06/18

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06/18/2015: Officer Rick Silva, Chehalis PD

“Officer Silva died after complications in surgery June 18, just one day prior to his 13th year service anniversary,” a press release stated. “Officer Silva was responding to a theft in progress this past February at a Chehalis retail store when the suspect, who had been concealing a knife, resisted arrest, causing more damage to a previous hip injury he acquired while on duty. Because of this, the injury intensified, triggering the need for surgery.”

The surgery resulted in complications that led to his death.

For more on Officer Silva: https://www.chronline.com/stories/chehalis-police-officer-dies-after-surgery-for-injury-sustained-on-duty,71835

Washington State EOW 06/17

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06/17/1911: Officer William Cunliffe, Seattle Police Department Seattle Police Officers Guild Seattle Police Foundation
06/17/2021: Officer Gabriel Forrest, Washington State Department of Corrections (Aberdeen)

*On June 17, 1911, Officer Cunliffe was shot and killed by unknown assailants on First Hill. He was on foot patrol in the early morning hours of June 17. There had been several residential burglaries in the area the night before. The officer stopped one or possibly two men he found on the street, and he was shot. The nature of his wound suggested that he was talking to someone when he was shot from the side.

*Officer Forrest died from COVID-19. He had worked at Stafford Creek Corrections Center near Aberdeen for more than 18 years. He was elected “Correctional Officer of the Year” in 2018.

For more on Officer Cunliffe: https://www.historylink.org/File/3809

For more on Officer Forrest: https://www.thedailyworld.com/obituaries/gabriel-gabe-forrest/

Washington State EOW 06/15

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06/15/1979: Sgt. William Cross, Washington State Department of Corrections (Walla Walla)

Sergeant Cross was murdered by inmates. The attack occurred in an extension of People’s Park, between the south entry to the dining hall and Big Red. He was stabbed five times, one cutting his aorta.

One inmate was convicted of second-degree murder in Sgt. Cross’ death. The inmate committed su***de in his cell after being convicted. A second inmate, brother of the convicted inmate, was acquitted of murder.

Cross’s death marked the beginning of the longest lockdown (nearly six months) in the history of Washington’s prisons.

For more on Sgt. Cross: http://unusualpunishmentbook.com/sergeant-william-cross/

Washington State EOW 06/14

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06/14/1921: Constable Mahlon Johnson, Waverly Town PD

Constable Johnson was shot and killed when he interrupted a night-time robbery at a local business. It is believed the suspect(s) fired at his flashlight beam as he was looking through the windows of the business. He was struck in the head and killed. His body was found in the morning with his gun still holstered and his flashlight still on.

For more on Constable Johnson: https://www.spokanecounty.org/1388/Roll-Call-of-Honor

Washington State EOW 06/13

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06/13/1966: Deputy Arthur Skaar, Skamania County Sheriff's Office (Skye)
06/13/2021: Officer Alexandra "Lexi" Harris, Seattle Police Department Seattle Police Officers Guild Seattle Police Foundation

*Prior to the start of his shift, Deputy Skaar had lunch with his parents. Unbeknownst to them, this would be their last meal together. Shortly after the start of his shift, Skaar was dispatched to the west end of Skamania County. A Mrs. Juanita Ahrendt had called the Sheriff’s Office to report she was having trouble with her 15-year-old son, John. Apparently, John had been drinking alcohol, and she needed help dealing with him.

Shortly after Skaar left radio range, his dispatch received another call from Mrs. Ahrendt. She reported John now had a rifle and was threatening to use it if officers responded. Skaar was heading into an ambush, and there was no way to warn him. When Deputy Skaar arrived at the Ahrendt home, he exited his patrol car for the last time. Inside the home was John Ahrendt. As he watched Skaar approach the door, he raised his 30.06 rifle and took aim through a window in the door. One shot rang out. The bullet struck Deputy Skaar in the neck, ending his life.

*Officer Alexandra “Lexi” Harris was driving home after her shift when she came across a crash scene and was killed after getting out of her car.

A three-car collision had occurred in the HOV lane of southbound I-5, where traffic had piled up from an earlier 10- to 13-car collision. Harris had gotten out of her car to help when she was struck by the driver of a fourth vehicle. The driver who struck Harris cooperated with investigators.

Harris grew up in Wallingford. She studied human kinetics at University of British Columbia in Vancouver and worked in the personal fitness industry for years after college. Friends suggested Harris check out an SPD recruiting event, and she liked the way the department approached policing, her father said. Her first patrol was in Queen Anne, and she later spent two years on bike patrol downtown, on the overnight watch.

Harris died from multiple blunt-force injuries and her death was ruled an accident.

For more on Deputy Skaar: http://skamaniasheriff.com/memorial/art-skaar/

For more on Officer Harris: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-police-family-mourn-death-of-officer-lexi-harris-who-was-fatally-struck-after-stopping-to-help-at-i-5-collision-scene/