Essay Instructions: Instructions
Read the Washington Post and Seattle PI Blog articles titled “4 police officers
killed at coffee shop”, "Court documents reveal more about note, evidence on
Monfort", and "California cops on alert for booby traps" that are provided below
starting at page 3 in the supplemental information section after the synopsis and
directions.
Each case involves recent active, planned ambushes on police officers. In the
1970's there were similar planned ambushes conducted against police officers by
the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) and other groups. The justice department
has recently warned of an increased risk from so called "lone wolf" attackers,
who commit terrorist acts based on personal or political motives. These actors
are much harder to stop before they carry out an attack because they usually do
not act in concert with other groups and are therefore unpredictable and hard to
defend against. The "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and Faisal
Shazhad who attempted to bomb Times Square are good examples. They were
motivated by a cause, but in the most part acted alone in planning and carrying
out their attacks.
The recent cases have many criminal justice practitioners worried of a coming
wave of attacks against police officers. The incarceration rate in the United
States has skyrocketed since 1972 so there are many more Americans who feel
spited and disenfranchised by the government. Mixed with an economic
recession where many people find it hard to find a job, and increased debt loads
by the government, their anger could be focused towards the government and
police officers are often times the most visible face of government. The Hutaree
Militia members who were recently charged with seditious conspiracy and
attempted use of weapons of mass destruction against a police officer funeral is
but one example.
For years police officers in the United States have become more and more
paramilitary like, with armored personnel carriers, submachine guns, tactical
clothing, and helicopters. The reason for this is so that they can meet the
challenges and threats of the 21st century. The Los Angeles Police Department
outfitted all patrol cars with AR-15 assault rifles after the famous bank robbery
attempt by heavily armed suspects that was broadcast around the world live on
television.
These new tactics seem to contradict the recent move towards community
policing, where police officers are supposed to look friendlier, more approachable
and accommodating to citizens. This is so that the police can garner more
cooperation from the populace and will be able to more easily solve societal ills
that are plaguing communities. It is also designed so that officers can better
solve crimes in culturally diverse neighborhoods where cooperation with the
police may not be the norm.
This term paper is comprised of five questions designed to test your legal
reasoning and sensitivity to social issues. Utilizing 1 to 2 pages each, critically
answer the following 5 broad questions. The term paper should be approximately
5 to 10 pages in length. The questions are listed at the very end of this
assignment sheet. In answering the questions, document your responses with
support material taken from library sources, your textbook, or the Internet. Be
sure to give proper attribution to each source you document (e.g., provide URLs
for online sources).
Do not use this assignment to vent your personal opinions on the issues covered
in the case study. Your goal should be to present a fair and impersonal review of
the issues based on good legal reasoning, sensitivity to societal issues, and
careful research.
The answer to each of the five questions should be roughly 1-2 pages long,
typed single spaced. Margins must be 1-inch on all sides. Pages beyond page 10
will neither be read nor graded.
Instructions on citing sources utilizing the APA (American Psychological
Association) reference style can be found at http://www.apastyle.org/ or a
comparable website.
Instructions on citing sources utilizing the MLA (Modern Language Association)
reference style can be found at http://www.mla.org/ or a comparable website.
1st Supplemental Information on the Case Study
The Washington Post
Monday, November 30, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/
content/article/2009/11/29/AR2009112902784.html
By Gene Johnson
4 police officers killed at coffee shop
Officials near Tacoma seek man freed from Arkansas prison
PARKLAND, WASH. -- A man with an extensive criminal past -- whose 95-year prison
sentence was commuted in Arkansas nearly a decade ago -- was being sought Sunday as
a "person of interest" after four police officers were fatally shot at a coffee shop near
Tacoma.
Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer told reporters that Maurice
Clemmons, 37, is one of several people investigators want to talk to but that he cannot be
called a suspect at this point.
In a news release, the sheriff's office said Clemmons had an extensive violent criminal
history in Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft. Clemmons was recently
charged in Washington's Pierce County with a third-degree assault on a police officer,
and second-degree rape of a child.
In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock of aggravated robbery. He was
paroled in 2000 after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his 95-year prison sentence.
Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination
in 2008 for the number of clemencies and commutations he granted, cited Clemmons's
age at the time of the sentence.
After his release from prison, Clemmons violated his parole and was returned to prison in
July 2001. He was released March 18, 2004, according to the Arkansas Democrat-
Gazette newspaper.
The four officers were with the 100-member police department of Lakewood, which
adjoins the unincorporated area of Parkland, where the shootings took place. The city
identified the victims as Mark Renninger, 39, Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and
Greg Richards 42.
Troyer said one of the officers may have wounded the gunman. He told reporters that
investigators were asking medical providers in the area to report any people wounded by
gunshots.
Troyer said investigators think two officers were gunned down while sitting in the shop
and a third was killed after standing up. The fourth apparently struggled with the gunman
out the doorway and "gave up a good fight," firing a few shots before being shot or
succumbing to earlier wounds.
"We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight . . . that he fought the guy all the
way out the door," Troyer said.
He added: "We hope that he hit him." Troyer said the gunman entered the coffeehouse
and walked up to the counter as if to place an order. A barista saw a gun when the man
opened his jacket and fled out the back door. The man then turned and shot the officers as
they sat working on their laptop computers, killing the three men and one woman in what
Troyer described as a targeted attack. "This was more of an execution -- walk in with the
specific mind-set to shoot police officers," he said.
Troyer said the officers were catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts
when they were attacked at 8:15 a.m. at the Forza Coffee Co. outlet.
"There were marked patrol cars outside, and they were all in uniform," he said.
There was no indication of any connection with the Halloween-night shooting of a Seattle
police officer. The suspect in that shooting remains hospitalized.
"We won't know if it's a copycat effect or what it was until we get the case solved,"
Troyer said.
Brad Carpenter, founder and owner of Forza Coffee, said his staff said his main concern
was for the victims' families.
"I'm a retired police officer, so this really hits close to home for me," he said.
2nd Supplemental Information on the Case Study
Seattle PI Blog
November 24, 2009
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/186117.asp
Casey McNerthney
Court documents reveal more about note, evidence on Monfort
On Friday, additional court documents were released in the case of Christopher J.
Monfort, the man charged with killing Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton, wounding of
his partner, Britt Sweeney, and attempting to kill detectives who confronted him six days
after the shooting.
It also detailed the full text of the threatening note left at the Oct. 22 arson scene of three
police vehicles. Monfort also has been charged in that case.
Police said a patrol car video shows his Datsun 210 passing Brenton and Sweeney's car at
9:59 p.m., eight minutes before Brenton is killed. Video shows that the car passed the
location where the officers were discussing their traffic stop in the same direction the
patrol car was parked, police said. The car then allegedly made a right turn at the next
street, putting it in a position to round the block and approach the patrol car from behind.
Investigators said Monfort's Datsun did just that, and fled backward to try and avoid
being caught by the forward-facing patrol cameras.
Monfort had worked as a security guard for Securitas Security, and his landlord told
police he had a temper, according to court documents.
Here are more specifics on weapons found in Monfort's apartment, according to police:
•?A Kel-Tec SU-16 rifle with magazine and ammunition
•?A Mossberg shotgun M59O series
•?Auto-Ordnance Corporation .45 caliber pistol and ammunition
•?Winchester model 70 7mm rifle with scope and ammunition
•?Fabrique Nationale D'Armes de Guerre Herstal BelgiQue rifle
•?Interordnance of America M-59/66 7.62 x 39 caliber rifle
Police also confiscated a Lowe's shopping bag with receipts and a repair kit,
miscellaneous papers, writings, mail and a Cingular cell phone box, among other items.
Investigators took several items from his Datsun, including a defective piece of the rear
quarter panel, a piece of plastic trim from the right rear cargo area and part of the
carpeting from the right cargo area. A political sign, seat covers, duct tape, and a PVC
hose were also among the items.
From Monfort's Crown Victoria, police confiscated receipts, a car cover and handwritten
papers, among other items.
In his apartment, police reported finding shooting targets, flags, a gas mask and a Radio
Shack scanner.
Monfort is also facing charges for the Oct. 22 arson of three police vehicles.
A Seattle Department of Transportation employee reported seeing a man weaving around
vehicles about 4:30 a.m. that morning, then squatting down a few feet south of a police
mobile precinct vehicle. The suspect was carrying a backpack "with a long cylindrical
object protruding from the top of the pack," according to court documents.
When patrol officers arrived, the mobile precinct was engulfed in flames. Assistant Chief
Jim Pugel said Monfort intended to kill officers that night with the timing of the fires.
Seattle police arson/bomb squad detectives discovered the mobile-command center had
been entered and set on fire. Two patrol cars had been damaged by metal pipe bombs
duct-taped to propane cylinders, placed near the fuel tanks.
At least one of the devices appeared to include a plastic sports-drink bottle with an
unknown substance. At least one of the pipes had been drilled to accommodate a fuse.
Police said this message was taped to the top of a patrol car with a knife in the roof:
These deaths are dedicated to Deputy Travis Bruner, he stood by and did
nothing, As Deputy Paul Sheen brutally beat and (sic) unarmed 14 year
old Girl in their care. You Swear a Solemn Oath to Protect US from All
Harm, That includes You! Start policing each other or get ready to attend a
lot of police funerals.
Police said when they searched Monfort's bedroom, they found an American flag lying
open on the bed. It was similar in size to the flag found on top of a patrol car at the
Charles Street maintenance yard, and a flag bandana was left near where Brenton was
killed.
Monfort's Monday court appearance was moved back after his attorney said he was not
well enough to leave Harborview Medical Center.
3rd Supplemental Information on the Case Study
The Washington Post
Monday, March 22, 2010
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/22/california-cops-on-alert-for-boobytraps/
print/
California cops on alert for booby traps
HEMET, Calif. | Police in this picturesque city in rural Riverside County have been on
edge in recent weeks. Someone is trying to kill them.
First, a natural gas pipe was shoved through a hole drilled into the roof of the gang
enforcement unit's headquarters. The building filled with flammable vapor but an officer
smelled the danger before anyone was hurt.
"It would have taken out half a city block," Capt. Tony Marghis said.
Then, a ballistic contraption was attached to a sliding security fence around the building.
An officer opening the black steel gate triggered the mechanism, which sent a bullet
within eight inches of his face.
In another attempted booby trap attack, some kind of explosive device was attached to a
police officer's unmarked car while he went into a convenience store.
"There's a person or people out there, a bunch of idiots, trying to do damage to us,"
Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said. "We can't expect our luck to hold up, we need
help."
Since New Year's Eve, there have been several other booby trap attempts to kill officers,
Chief Dana said.
"The only reason they haven't killed an officer yet is because we've been observant
enough to see devices planted around the station and in cars and different places," he
said.
Gang enforcement officers appear to be the target of the assassination attempts, though
Chief Dana noted the devices were indiscriminate by nature and could have killed any
police or law enforcement officer.
"It is incredible and I think unprecedented that police officers in the line of duty could be
subjected to these kind of terrorist attempts on their lives," Attorney General Jerry Brown
said.
The incidents have shaken a close-knit police department already demoralized by steep
budget cuts that last year saw its officer numbers slashed by a quarter to 68. Officers are
checking under cars for bombs and scouting for other potential hazards.
"I would call the mood tense," Capt. Marghis said. "Everyone is being very vigilant about
their surroundings and the environment."
Chief Dana said officers have seen gang members carrying out counter-surveillance,
studying police behavior. He often looks in his rearview mirror when he drives home at
night to make sure he is not being followed.
In the attack with a ballistic contraption, the officer only avoided being shot in the head
because the wheels on the sliding gate were wonky so he had to angle his body to open it.
"He had to push it to the right, the bullet went by to the left," Chief Dana said.
Hemet, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, was traditionally known as a quiet retirement
community. The population has grown in recent years to about 75,000 but the oncebooming
housing market has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
Investigators are trying to determine why officers are being targeted. A prevalent theory
is that members of an outlaw motorcycle gang, the Vagos, were angered when members
of Hemet's anti-gang task force monitored them at a funeral in a church opposite the task
force's former headquarters.
A memorial service was held Dec. 29 in the Hemet Christian Assembly church and some
100 members of the gang attended, said Riverside County sheriff's Capt. Walter Meyer,
who oversees the regional gang task force.
Officers monitored the memorial but did not attend the service. Some of the Vagos
members were questioned or followed as they left town.
Two days later, the gang enforcement unit's black shingle roof was drilled through and
the single-level house, converted for police use, filled up with gas.
"Which would obviously leave a reasonable person to ask: Are they involved?" Capt.
Meyer said.
One of the church's pastors, James McKiney, said a group of motorcycling friends
mourning the death of a prominent Hemet man asked whether he would conduct a
memorial service.
"When a family is crying and asking for a service, you don't say no to them," he said. "I
said that's no problem, I'll do that."
He declined to discuss the service or if he recalled any gang officers monitoring its
attendants.
Authorities said about 30 members of the Vagos, California's largest motorcycle gang,
were arrested in Riverside County on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown across the state
and in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Prosecutors don't have a total number of arrests.
Capt. Meyer said there are about 200 Vagos members in Riverside County. The gang
specializes in methamphetamine sales, identity theft and violence, he said.
Questions
Answer each of the five following questions/items. Your answer to each
question/item should be about 1-2 pages long, typed single spaced. Your answer
should reflect research on your part ??" from library sources, government
documents, your textbook, and/or the Internet. Give proper attribution to your
research sources (e.g., for Internet sources, provide a URL)
1. Do you believe there is a danger of increased attacks against police officers
due to frustration and anger by rogue individuals bent on causing terror, and if
so, should the tactics of police officers be modified in any way to meet this
new emerging threat? Explain. What are some tactics that could be taught to
officers in the filed in order to help them stay safe on their beat? Are the
current tactics taught to police officers adequate?
2. Do these new tactics that should be designed to increase officer safety
somewhat contradict the conventions of community policing? Explain. If so,
how might some of these contradictions be mitigated?
3. Is there an increased threat from "lone wolf" attackers who might commit the
next large scale terrorist attacks? How could law enforcement target a "lone
wolf" attacker before they strike or prevent one from attacking?
4. What are some other emerging threats against law enforcement that deserve
a closer look?
5. Do you believe that law enforcement focuses enough on befriending and
getting to know citizens in their jurisdiction or should this not really be a
concern for law enforcement officers? How could more emphasis on
community policing help police officers in solving crimes and reducing the
crime rate? Is it law enforcements job or the job of all the people in society in
general to try and lower the crime rate? Could law enforcement ever make a
meaningful dent in the crime rate without the cooperation of the people in
general?
