PLEASANTON, Texas (AP) - Three law officers were killed late Tuesday in an apparent ambush in a rural trailer park, authorities said.
Two Atascosa County Sheriff's Department deputies and a Texas State Trooper were gunned down with a high-powered rifle.
They were shot by an unidentified gunman who apparently lured authorities to his mobile home south of San Antonio with a 911 call.
The gunman wounded two other officers before shooting himself, state Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Cox said.
``I don't remember anything like this since Waco,'' Cox said. ``Except that there's really been nothing where there's been so many officers killed in Texas in my memory.''
The deputies approached the Atascosa County home and were met with shots from within the trailer, Cox said. They died immediately.
``And it gets worse,'' Cox said.
The shooter apparently grabbed a pistol from one of the fallen officers, crossed a dirt road and hid himself in underbrush.
When the trooper arrived at the scene, he sent out a radio call that officers were shot. But before he could remove his seat belt, the gunman shot him dead while he sat in his vehicle.
As other police arrived, officers used searchlights and a police helicopter at the scene. Meanwhile, the suspect continued to snipe from his roadside hiding place, Cox said.
``It's very disturbing,'' Bexar County sheriff's deputy Clyde Ross told the San Antonio Express-News. ``It was a very bloody scene.''
The gunfire wounded a bailiff with the Marshal Service and a Pleasanton police officer. The two were moved to University Hospital in San Antonio.
The wounded were identified as Carl Fisher, 60, an Atascosa County deputy, and Pleasanton police Officer Luis Tudyk, 30.
The bailiff was in surgery early this morning. Both were listed in fair condition early today.
At one point during the attack, in an attempt to block some of the sniper's bullets, officers parked a fire truck beside the trailer and crept closer.
``They were trying to get to the other officers, because they didn't know yet they were dead,'' Cox said.
Officers fired back in the direction of the brush, but it was the sniper who eventually shot himself with the stolen pistol.
Texas Rangers are investigating the attack.
The killed deputy had a wife and two children, Cox said. No other details or identities were available.
After being lured to a rural Texas trailer park by a bogus 911 call,
two Atascosa Co. SD deputies and a Texas state trooper were gunned down in
an ambush Tuesday. The gunman, Jeremiah Engleton, had been jailed earlier
in the day on a domestic violence charge.
According to preliminary reports, Atascosa Co. SD Deputy Thomas Monse, 31,
was the first to arrive at Engleton's trailer after the 911 call was
received. Engleton shot him with a high-powered rifle before the deputy
was able to get out of his car. Thomas died instantly.
Five minutes later, Deputy Mark Stephenson, 32, arrived at the scene,
unaware of what had just happened to Thomas. Mark was also shot and killed
before he could leave his unit.
After killing Thomas and Mark, Engleton apparently grabbed one of the
deputy's sidearm and hid in some bushes across from his trailer waiting to
ambush other officers who responded.
20 minutes later, Trooper Terry Miller arrived and immediately came under
fire. His car wedged in a ditch as he desperately tried to get away. He
was shot and killed while trapped in his car.
Engleton continued to fire at responding officers from his hiding place.
After wounding two others and being struck by officers' return fire, he
finally shot and killed himself.
Officer Don Overton was airlifted from his smashed squad car Tuesday at Hollywood south of Chelsea. He died at The Med. (Photograph by Mark Adams)
Officer dies after vehicle in
chase slams squad car
12-year veteran not part of pursuit
A veteran police officer died Tuesday afternoon after theft suspects speeding from pursuing police struck his squad car broadside.
Don Overton, a 12-year veteran assigned to the North Precinct, was not involved in the chase. His wife is expecting their first child in a few weeks.
Overton, 35, was entering Hollywood at Staten, turning into the northbound lanes when a green Chevrolet, southbound, struck his car.
``The green car was going fast,'' said witness Evelyn Boyce, who was driving south on Hollywood. ``I heard it hit."
W. E. Rorie, another witness, also was driving south on Hollywood when the green Chevrolet overtook his pickup.
``When I saw them flying at me, I pulled over,'' said Rorie, who saw the crash.
``The green car passed going about 100 (mph) . . . the police car pulled out with his blue lights on . . . the green car hit him on the left side."
The crash ``was loud, and things were flying all over,'' he said.
The impact knocked both cars across Hollywood and spewed auto parts across the intersection.
The driver's side of the squad car was caved in.The front of the Chevrolet was demolished.
Rorie said the officers following the Chevrolet ran from their cars and tried to pull Overton from the cruiser, breaking windows in a frantic attempt to free him.
Firefighters armed with the "Jaws of Life" device finally extricated him and tore the roof off the Chevrolet to free four youths inside.
The youths, who were not identified, suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries, police said.
Detectives are investigating the crash and the circumstances surrounding the preceding chase to be sure the department's pursuit policy was followed.
Overton was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, where he died a short time later. Officers who worked with him and tried to save him consoled each other at the scene, some of them crying.
The car that struck Overton's cruiser reportedly was stolen.
The suspects are believed to have stolen merchandise from Goldsmith's Department Store in Raleigh Springs Mall. Police also reported that the suspects' car nearly hit a police car in the mall parking lot.
Just before the accident, Lt. Roy Tidwell of the North Precinct said that police were called to Goldsmith's at Raleigh Springs Mall for either a theft or a robbery.
When the officers arrived, a fleeing car almost struck them in the Dillard's parking lot, he said. The officers followed the car off the lot but were unable to get close to it.
The Chevrolet entered Interstate 40 at Jackson and exited at Hollywood, headed south, passing Chelsea and crashing into Overton's squad car several blocks south, about eight miles from the mall.
Tidwell said he was talking by radio with the pursuing patrol cars to determine what had happened at the mall and to have a helicopter join the pursuit.

Deputy Rick Hillard was killed in an automobile accident Sunday, 10/17/99.
He was involved in a chase of a motorcycle and lost control of his patrol
vehicle. The motorcycle was not apprehended and only sketchy information is
available.
Rick had been in law enforcement for 21 years, starting with Salisbury PD
and transferring to the Rowan County Sheriff's Dept. several years ago.
Rick was a great guy, with a great sense of humor. One of those officers
that always makes you laugh, no matter what. He is already very much
missed. It is a sad day in Rowan County.
He is survived by his wife and 2 teenage children.

Chief of Police Kahn was killed in an automobile accident on 10-18-99 when his cruiser rear-ended a flat-bed truck that was making a left turn. Chief Kahn had been the chief of the eight-officer agency for approximately one year.

SWAT policeman, suspect killed in gunfight 10-21-99
WOODBURY, NJ (AP) -- A member of a police SWAT team was shot and killed Thursday morning in a gunfight following a family quarrel in a home here, authorities said.
The suspect in the shooting also was found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Yurick.
Officer Steven Levy, 35, of the Washington Township Police Department, died after he was shot in the head at about 2 a.m., Yurick said.
Levy leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 2 and 5. He was a 13-year police veteran.
"He was completely dedicated to his profession and to his family," said a grieving Washington Township Deputy Police Chief James Murphy. "This department is extremely proud of his accomplishments. Our condolences go out to everyone who knew him."
Yurick said the suspect, Michael DeMore, had been convicted of a weapons offense in 1995 and was placed on probation. The prosecutor said DeMore was not allowed to carry a weapon thereafter.
Yurick said Levy was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m. at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden following surgery.
Levy was shot after entering the house on Logan Street. Yurick said DeMore fired through a bedroom door.
DeMore, 32, was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a handgun during the clash, Yurick said.
The incident began as an argument between DeMore and his parents in the home at about 10 p.m. Wednesday. A brother, Charles DeMore, came home later and tried to intervene, said Yurick.
The incident escalated from there, someone called Woodbury police and a standoff began. The municipal police later summoned the countywide Critical Incident Team that included Levy, Yurick said.
Michael DeMore also may have been struck by SWAT team gunfire, Yurick said. Authorities plan an autopsy to determine whose bullet or bullets killed him.
Yurick said officers on the Critical Incident Team, a special tactics unit, typically wear body armor to shield them from gunfire. Their heads and hands are unprotected, however.
Levy is the first police officer killed in the line of duty in Gloucester County since Robert "Mudman" Simon gunned down Franklin Township Sgt. Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez in May, 1995.

GREENSBORO -- Two years ago, trooper William "Bryant" Davis posed for an N.C. Highway Patrol poster to promote school bus safety.
Davis was a natural choice, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Phil Wadsworth. He was an experienced and respected trooper, with longtime ties to the McLeansville community, where he and his family worshipped at Northeast Baptist Church. He was well known at the eastern Guilford County schools where his wife worked and his young daughters attended.
Such close bonds made the pain all the more real on Friday, the day after Davis was killed when he lost control of his patrol car and wrecked on McConnell Road just southeast of Greensboro while en route to assist another trooper.
Davis, 47, was killed instantly in the 3:44 p.m. 10-21-99 accident, in which his marked 1998 Ford Crown Victoria spun out of control on a curve, striking a pickup truck and leaving the road. The other driver, identified as Benny Lee Deel of 3820-61 McConnell Road, received only minor injuries to his wrist, the Highway Patrol said.
Officers have yet to determine how fast Davis was traveling at the time of the accident. A Highway Patrol accident reconstruction team's investigation could take several days, Wadsworth said.
A native of Durham, Davis graduated from Williams High in Burlington before joining the Highway Patrol in 1973. He was stationed in Yadkinville until 1978, when he transferred to Greensboro.
His wife, Kathy, is a media assistant at Gibsonville Elementary School. Their two daughters, 10-year-old Ashley and Krystal, 12, both attend Guilford County schools, where Bryant Davis was an active supporter.
Davis was the second North Carolina law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty this week and the first state trooper to die in Guilford County since 1963. He was the 51st trooper overall to be killed while on duty, Highway Patrol officials said.
On Sunday, Rowan County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Allen Hillard, 46, of Salisbury was killed while pursuing a speeder in south Davie County.
Davis' wreck occurred Thursday afternoon while he was driving east on McConnell Road, headed toward I-85 to assist another trooper in stopping a suspected stolen car. Davis' strobe lights and siren were activated, officials said.
Davis lost control of his car in a right curve, spun into the westbound travel lane and struck the pickup truck. Then the patrol car ran off the road to the left, striking several trees. A witness said two troopers following close behind tried unsuccessfully to revive Davis before paramedics arrived.
Contributions may be made to any local of the State Employees Credit Union, or donations can be mailed to: State Employees Credit Union, P.O. Box 26927, Raleigh, N.C. 27611. Checks should be made payable to Trooper William B. Davis Memorial Fund, Account No. 532877.

 A policewoman reports suspicious activity near the lighthouse and requests backup. She is found dead. 10-22-99
BALD HEAD ISLAND -- A Bald Head Island police officer was shot and killed Friday night during her nightly patrol.
Devina Jones, 33, was shot in the head shortly before midnight, according to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department.
Sheriff's Lt. David Crocker said Jones had called a dispatcher to report some suspicious activity near the lighthouse shortly before the shooting.
He would not elaborate on what she had reported.
Jones apparently called for backup, and the officer who arrived found her dead in an open area near the lighthouse.
Crocker said the sheriff's department, Bald Head Island Public Safety Department and the U.S. Coast Guard acted quickly to shut down all boat traffic to and from the island.
The resort island is accessible only by boat and by ferry to the mainland.
Cars are not permitted, and most residents get around by golf cart or bicycle.
"Aided by the Coast Guard, we shut it down," Crocker said.
He said deputies and Bald Head public safety officers are now canvassing the island, and are encouraging any residents who saw anything suspicious before or after the shooting to come forward.
Crocker would not say whether investigators have a suspect.
"We're working every lead we've got," he said. "We feel confident in the direction we are going."
Jones' autopsy was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported.

I regret to inform all of the passing of Lexington County (SC) Sheriff's
Deputy Brian Mills early on the A.M. of 10/23/99 (Saturday).
The 27 year old deputy was responding to a 911 hang-up call at 0130 hrs this
A.M.
His patrol vehicle veered off the road (Platt Springs Road) and flipped
several times.
He passed away at the scene of the accident.
Mills had been a US Army Military Police officer for five years, before
becoming a Lexington County Sheriff's deputy (about a year ago).
Deputy Mills leaves a wife and son.
The Pee Dee Area State Constable Association members extend their heartfelt
condolences to Deputy Mills family members and those of the Lexington County
Sheriff's Department. We all lose a little of our Hearts when one of our own
passes away.

Last Thursday, October 14, Officer Trevino, a member of the Harvey, IL Police
Dept. shot and killed himself. Ofc. Trevino was at home, in uniform,
reportedly preparing to leave to go to work when he got into his bath tub,
put the barrel of his gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. His wife of
two years, a South Holland, IL Police officer/paramedic was home at the time.
As far as I could gather, there were none of the classical warning signs of
this impending incident.
Remember, if it gets so bad that you consider suicide, please talk to
somebody about it. You affect much more than yourself in the end. Please
say a prayer for the involved families.

It is with great sadness that I relate the death of my friend and former
supervisor, Lt. Jack Stoner, US Dept. of Defense Police, Fort Detrick,
Maryland.
Lt. Stoner evidently called in to the dept. on the morning of 21 Oct.,
requesting sick leave. Subsequently he called his ex(?)-wife, who felt
something was definitely not "right" with Jack. The ex-wife proceeded to his
apartment, where she found him dead in the hallway outside his apartment. My
information indicates he suffered a major heart attack.
Jack was the kind of supervisor who could be difficult to work for.
Everything had to be "just so," and it was his way or the highway, so to
speak. However, Jack was a very fair boss, and he was gifted with more
common sense than most of his peers put together. When he told an officer
"good job," it was indeed the highest praise one could receive. He supported
his officers 100%. I would choose working for him over most other bosses.
Jack was also a good friend, the kind of guy who would not hesitate to offer
his assistance and support. He'd give a guy the shirt off his back if it
were needed. He could be counted on to provide guidance, wisdom, or
something as mundane as a ride.
When it is my time to patrol Heaven's streets, I hope I am assigned to his
squad. Farewell, Lieutenant Stoner.

Officer Casey was killed when the helicopter he was piloting crashed. Officer Casey and a mechanic were flying the helicopter after it had been worked on. During the flight, the rear of the helicopter experience mechanical failure, causing it to spin out of control. Officer Casey was able to crash-land the helicopter in an empty spot on a congested roadway, avoiding a worst disaster. Both he and the mechanic were killed in the crash. Officer Casey had been with the agency for ten years.

Parole Officer Debose-Dover was killed in an on-duty automobile accident on the Taconic State Parkway. Another parole officer was injured in the accident. Officer Debose-Dover had been with the agency for sixteen years.



Officer Tomlinson was killed in an automobile accident involving an ambulance. Officer Tomlinson was running radar when his cruiser was struck on the driver's side by the ambulance while he was making a U-turn. He was the first Murfreesboro police officer to be killed in the line of duty since 1946.

Sad duty to report that around Midnight Friday 10-30-99, a Winchester, Virginia
officer was shot and killed during a foot chase. During the chase, Sgt.
Ricky L. Timbrook was shot in the head.
Sergeant Timbrook was shot and killed while chasing a man on foot. During the pursuit, Sergeant Timbrook chased the man into an alley. The suspect stopped, turned around, and fire one shot which struck Sergeant Timbrook in the forehead. He was transported to a local hospital where he died approximately 30 minutes later. The suspect was found several hours later hiding in a basement of a home on the block where the shooting occurred. The suspect had been arrested by Sergeant Timbrook in 1997 on a firearms violation and had a deportation hearing scheduled for November 2, 1999. Suspect was caught several hours later. Sgt. Timbrook and his wife were expecting thier first child in December.


10-29-99

This weekend had a frightening start for one quiet tri-state community and
some tri-state police officers.
Loveland officers responded to a domestic violence call early Saturday
morning.
It ended in a neighborhood shootout.
Saturday night Officer Tim Amburgey is in serious condition, shot in the
chest and shoulder.
The assault suspect, William Thomas Martin, was shot five times. He was also
listed in serious condition.
Family members say Thomas Martin was hoping police would kill him.
Police say the shootout began when Mr. Martin, carrying a shotgun, started walking from the car to his wife's house in the 300 block of Ruth Avenue.
Loveland Detective Tim Amburgey, 44, who has been with the Loveland Police Department for about 18 years, remained at University Hospital Saturday in serious condition. One gunshot blast hit Detective Amburgey, shooting one pellet into his chest while others shattered his arm.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew Bobb's forearm was grazed by pellets. He was treated at Clermont Mercy Hospital and released, Patrol Sgt. Gary Lewis said. Trooper Bobb, 25, of Union Township, Clermont County, has served on the patrol for 11/2 years.
The incident marked the first time a Loveland police officer has been shot in the line of duty, Sgt. Ackman said.
The incident started with an early morning telephone call from Mr. Martin to his estranged wife. Neighbors said the two had separated several months ago. Police had been to their house repeatedly for domestic violence calls.
In a call to 911, Shelly Martin told a dispatcher that Mr. Martin telephoned shortly before 2 a.m. and demanded to talk to his children. Mrs. Martin said she has a restraining order against her husband and he is on probation for domestic violence.
When she refused to wake the children, he drove to her Ruth Avenue home, kicked in the door and went into the living room where their 11-year-old daughter was sleeping, Mrs. Martin told the dispatcher. He gave his daughter an engagement ring he had intended to give his new girlfriend, Mrs. Martin added.
“You'll never have to see me again,” he announced, according to Mrs. Martin.
He then stormed out of the house and drove away on Oak Street. He was intoxicated, she added.
As a dispatcher assured Mrs. Martin officers were on the way, Loveland police put out a bulletin on Mr. Martin, warning that he was armed and threatening suicide, Sgt. Ackman said.
Mr. Martin twice called the house from a pay phone, once from a BP service station at Interstate 275 and Wards Corner Road and then from a Perkins Family Restaurant at I-275 and Ohio 32 near Batavia, police said.
Union Township, Clermont County, police caught up with him near Perkins, and the chase was on, Sgt. Ackman said. Mr. Martin turned around and headed north on I-275. Miami Township police picked up the chase, and Trooper Bobb joined as backup.
As Mr. Martin led them back into Loveland, police told Mrs. Martin to gather her children and get out of the house. Neighbors say she and her daughter drove to the Loveland police station while son Daniel, about 16, drove behind in another car. At some point, Daniel turned around and returned to Ruth Avenue, trying to stop his dad, neighbors said.
Detective Amburgey and Loveland Officer James Brown were waiting for Mr. Martin. Units from the Clermont County Sheriff's office were there.
Mr. Martin pulled onto Oak Street, crashing into a ditch before he could turn left onto Ruth Avenue. Miami Township police and Trooper Bobb pulled in behind him.
Mrs. Alsip said she saw Mr. Martin get out of the Probe and start walking toward the family house, shotgun in hand. She said officers yelled for him to stop. When he refused, shooting erupted.
Sgt. Ackman would not say who fired first, how many shots were fired or which officers fired their weapons.
“Multiple officers from multiple agencies were shooting,” he said.
Police had been to the house several times the past year on domestic calls, Sgt. Ackman and neighbors said. Mr. Martin has been arrested for domestic violence numerous times.

Payson, Arizona
At 1330 Hrs, AST, Saturday afternoon, 10-30-99, Payson, AZ., officer
Allan Dyer, less than one week laterally transferred from the Phoenix
P.D. to the alpine retirement community 90 miles North of Phoenix was
shot and wounded when he responded with other officers to a "man with a
gun" call near the local Walgreen's drug store. The confrontation took
place in the parking lot and officer dyer was shot at least twice. The
suspect, Lenny Kazar, escaped and later turned himself in at the Payson
Police Department. Officer Dyer was air evac'd to Good Samaritan
Hospital in Phoenix and is expected to fully recover. His injuries were
torso hits and he was wearing a vest. The shooter was identified as
Lenny Kazar of Heber, AZ. Sources within BATF identified kazar as a
witness in a Heber, AZ., Mormon church bombing and that he also had a
federal arrest warrant for possession of explosives. Heber has been the
site of bitter internal political struggles within the Mormon church.

Death of a fellow officer
Unfortunately our dept. lost an officer last night, 10-30-99. Off. Ron Lebaroff,
passed away last night from an apparent heart attack. Ron was only 51
years old.
Ron joined our dept. in Feb. 1992, and had spent the majority of his
career in the traffic unit, until last year when he was transferred to
our newly formed Professional Standards Unit. Ron did not want the
assignment, but took it and did his best at it.
Ron will be greatly missed.
Police Officer
Springfield, OH PD