Our day at the LBS-Shots fired, Officer's down..

[Running Mommy]

This afternoon at the shop we heard a barrage of gun shots out behind our building.
Apparently there was an armed robbery at the car wash around the corner, and the cops cornered the guy. He shot an officer as well as a K9 officer (police dog). I think both officers (yes I consider the dog an officer too) will survive, but I think prayers/vibes are warranted. Luckily the officer was able to shoot back, and they killed the suspect.
A couple of our customers are Goodyear officers, so I'm extra worried. But it always upsets me when I hear of an officer being shot. My cousin is an LAPD, so it hits close to home...
It was crazy here this afternoon tho- lot's of heli's overhead, and lots of sirens...
Sigh.... what is with our society??? :(

[Pax]

That is so sad, I'm glad the officers will survive. :(

[Trek420]

My LBS is also the shop for our local bike cops. I hope both officers survive. Many of our brave K9 cops don't have vests and they are often the first through the door or in dangerous situations. What kinda nut shoots at the cops?
"Ooooh, I just can't go back to jail"
"well, guess what now bub?"

www.vestadog.com

[OakLeaf]

Oh, man. Praying for the officers. A couple of years ago a local cop and his K9 were killed in a traffic accident on their way to a call. It was so sad. They buried the dog's ashes in the man's coffin, and 300 police dogs went to the funeral.


What kinda nut shoots at the cops?

It's called "suicide by police." Really.

[wannaduacentury]

HOLY COW!!! That's too much. I hope they'll be ok. The suspect had it coming or he wanted to die. It just doesn't make sense why people do that. I'm glad you and your shop didn't suffer. Jenn

[kat_h]

Please keep us posted if you hear about how the officers are doing. My dad was a cop for 23 years and my brother joined last summer, so stories like this hit close to home.

[Starfish]

RM, I'm offering prayers for all involved, including you. It must have been quite a day, and it may be strange for you to be there for awhile. Hope you do something good for yourself tonight, and ongoing.

[Fredwina]

I'll agree, It must be traumatic. You can never tell when or where crime is going to hit

[KnottedYet]

Sending prayers and good thoughts to both officers.

Maybe TE'ers could buy a bullet proof K-9 vest for the officers who protect RM. Trek's link to Vest-A-Dog is very cool.

[LoriO]

As a 911 dispatcher, that hits way to close to home. That is one of my worst fears, having one of my officers shot on my shift. I pray I never have to deal with that. Lots of prayers for the officers (man and K9) that were injured.

I grew up in LA and was involved in Law Enforcement out there. I've been to two funerals for LAPD officers killed in the line of duty and that was 2 too many. I pray to never, ever have to attend one again.

[Trek420]

Maybe TE'ers could buy a bullet proof K-9 vest for the officers who protect RM. Trek's link to Vest-A-Dog is very cool.

I think if RM wants to start an LBS collection we'll pitch in.

[sundial]

RM, how tragic! Thank goodness you are safe. I hope the K-9 had a vest on. :(
Any word on the officer?

[Jo-n-NY]

This hits close to home for me also. My son is in his first year with the NYPD. I am so happy to hear "both" officers will be ok. Yes, there are too many crazy people in this world.

~ JoAnn

[Blueberry]

Hugs to you RM.....

I too hope that both officers will be OK. I have a dear friend whose spouse is a police officer.

So scary...I agree - it may take a while for things to feel right again....:(

[LBTC]

RM - sending lots of calming, healing butterflies to your part of the world, and especially to both officers for a complete recovery. Wish there weren't crazy people out there!! Please let us know how the officers are doing, whenever you hear. And let us know if the K9 officers in your area require vests and if there is something we can do to help make that happen.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[oxysback]

Who robs a car wash??? A bank...ok...maybe even a c-store, but a car wash? They sure weren't the brightest crayons in the box, were they? But I guess crooks never are. Otherwise they'd have jobs and contribute to society.

Good thoughts and prayers for the wounded officers...

Especially glad you weren't hurt, RM!!

[Velobambina]

First of all, glad you are OK Denise. Prayers and good karma to the injured officers....

Let us know about the K9 vests. A local dog park advocacy group here in Arlington took donations & bought some of the County K9 officers vests a few years back.

Not to drift this thread, but all service dogs--including K9 officers--are incredible. We have K9 officers at work and I love seeing them doing their jobs. These gals & guys are highly trained, and they are on the front line of defense in keeping us safe. A few months ago, a K9 passed away (medical thing) and there was a memorial set up for him. His collar, badge, etc were in a display case, along with pictures of him at work and at play. It makes me proud to know that our K9s are considered part of the "family" and thus, are honored for their service.

[Running Mommy]

Sorry ladies, it's been a long 24 hours since I posted this.
First of all, the K9 was grazed in the ear, so he's ok.
The officer was hit twice, once in the chest- vest took the bullet- and in the hip. He had surgery lastnight, but will survive. He's an 11 year veteran of the force, and has had "zipp" the k9 for 2-3 years.
Apparently our little burb known as Goodyear has never had a cop shot in it's 63 year history.
Now as for the IDIOT... He's dead (don't know if I had that in my OP) and apparently he stole the TIP JAR from the car wash! I guess he went in there brandishing a weapon and ran out with the tip jar. The dog tracked him to a shed behind a house. When the cops went in after him is when he opened fire on the officer, so they in turn opened fire on him.
I guess the barrage of gun shots I heard came from the officers.
All of that over a TIP JAR that had maybe 100 bucks in it!! :confused:

[massbikebabe]

Not to deviate...

my dog was recently hit and killed by a drunk driver who almost killed my son
as well. The officer who came to the house was a K-9 policeman who was so very compassionate, caring, and loving to my son that my husband sat down and wrote letters of appreciation to everyone from the mayor to the chief of police. The officer was kind enough to take off her collar and give to my husband for when my son was ready for it. He now has it hanging on the side of his bed.

God bless police, fire, and paramedics for all the work they do!!

karen

[Running Mommy]

agreed Karen!
And our local police seem to be extra nice. One year I didn't recieve the stickers in the mail when I renewed the registration, so I got stopped a few times for expired tags. They were so polite! In nor cal they would have given me a fix it ticket- and a hard time...:cool:
They even started a website where you can ask a cop a question. It was started by cops too- not the administration.
Very cool folks.

[7rider]

It's called "suicide by police." Really.

I've heard that.

Sorry to hear about this so close to the shop.

[Running Mommy]

Our friendly officer customers just stopped by.
Officer Ricky is having another surgery today. The other K9 handler is taking Zipp his k9 into see him today.
Now here is the BAD news...
Apparently the family of the criminal is a bunch of criminals themselves, so now they are making threats that "you took out one of ours, so now we are going to take one of yours"... NICE huh??!!
:mad:

Now I'm pro law enforcement in general since I have a few family members in the biz..
But I have a special fondness for our guys. They are all soo nice, and a good portion of them ride. In fact the one I was speaking w/today is doing Ironman w/me in April. These guys are just all the nicest guys! And I pray that no harm comes to them. - As I do w/everyone of course..

[KSH]

Our friendly officer customers just stopped by.
Officer Ricky is having another surgery today. The other K9 handler is taking Zipp his k9 into see him today.
Now here is the BAD news...
Apparently the family of the criminal is a bunch of criminals themselves, so now they are making threats that "you took out one of ours, so now we are going to take one of yours"... NICE huh??!!
:mad:



Happy to hear they are all OK! How scary to have that happen so close.

Oh yea, threatening the police sounds like a wise decision. :rolleyes:

Idiots. I guess they are ready to die too.

[bmccasland]

RM -
That crap isn't supposed to happen in Goodyear! It's supposed to be a quiet spot. I know I used to date a Goodyear cop (he's now retired). Those officers are were probably once one of his "boys" (he was a sargent). Guess the criminal crowd has moved out to the suburbs too. But they've picked the wrong crowd to pick a fight with. Still have Joe Arpaio (sp?) as Sheriff of Maricopa County?

Hope things quiet down again. And your fine officers get to go back to busting people for speeding through school zones, or following too closely behind fire trucks speeding to calls. And good healing juju to the injured officer. I bet Zipp cheared him up!

[Running Mommy]

Just read the article in our little local paper (comes out twice a week it's so little) and they named the two officers that shot and killed the bad guy.
One of them was a very good customer of ours. :(
I figured something was up because he was going to bring in his wheels to have Tony put Stans in them... Sigh...
I can only imagine what he's going through.
So I just texted my cousin (the officer) to see if it was appropriate to send him a card offering up our support, and she said defintely.
So I'm going to send three cards. One to officer Melrose and Zipp, the injured officers. And one to our friend officer Bryant, as well as the other officer- officer White. Officer white only had a couple of years in, so by all accounts he's still a rookie. but it turns out officer Bryant is a true hero. In 2005 he won a medal of valor for pulling someone from a burning home.

[Running Mommy]

Officer Dave came in today. He was the officer that had to shoot the bad guy.
BOY HOWDY was that emotional! He's really going through some stuff. And I guess his wife is going through it as well. He's facing going back to work, and is kind of freaked out by it.
We had a really good talk, and he gave me a hug when he left. I felt like crying.
Funny, but I didn't know him before we opened the shop, and now I feel like he's family.
Sigh.... I want to go home and go for a long ride now to clear my head, but I'm the only one here...

[LBTC]

{{{{{{{{{{{{Denise}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Sending you hugs and lots of butterflies for you and for the officers and families involved. Emotional stuff has to be gone through just like any other injury. May they all heal completely!

~T~

[Running Mommy]

Thanks LBTC! I have something to send you. I need to get it packed up and sent over to you... I just haven't had time to go to the post office.:o

[Wahine]

(((((((((Hugs)))))))))

I've got nothing useful to say, I just wanted to cyber hug you.

[kat_h]

And I guess his wife is going through it as well.

Police familes have to go through a lot, often without much support. If it comes up sometime maybe suggest to him getting a copy of I Love a Cop (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Cop-Revised-Police-Families/dp/159385353X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204173251&sr=8-1) for her. My mom bought a copy of it for my brother's fiancee.

And lots of hugs of course.

[LBTC]

Aw, Denise, you're sooo sweet!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[DDH]

I am so glad the officer and the officer k9 are both going to be okay. I'm so sorry for the officer that had to shoot the guy. This is a very hard thing for them to go through and I am sure they have offered him, or maybe required some counseling.

This hits very close to home for me considering my DH has been on the police force here for 26 years. Everytime I here of an officer shot it sends chills through me, and I weep for them and the family.