2nd LEO killed within a month...

[AZKomet]

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Gilbert-officer-gunned-down-suspects-lead-police-on-50-mile-chase-83022632.html

[beemerman2k]

Shuhandler, who became well known throughout the country when he handled information about the DUI arrest of former NBA great Charles Barkley, is the second Arizona officer killed in the line of duty in a little more than a month.

 

The incident with its massive crime scene is under investigation.

 

What a heartbreaking story.

 

Given the kind words I heard Charles Barkley express on talk shows toward his arresting officer, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is at this fallen officers funeral.

 

I lived on the west side of Phoenix, AZ for one year in 1985. In fact, during that time I earned my Associates Degree from Pheonix College. My house was near the corner of 59th Ave and Thomas Road. It was a nice, family oriented neighborhood back then. I am told that today the area is practically a gang riddled dump. When I rode my RT though Phoenix on my way to LA back in 2004, I hardly recognized the city. Obviously it's nothing like the small town I knew back in the '80's.

 

It's heartbreaking to learn that what was once a very nice, safe, family oriented place now reflects many of the very traits that pushed families away from other cities and toward Phoenix in the first place.

[Kathy R]

How horrible.

 

And the perps were hoping to go out in a blaze of glory and now they are in satisfactory condition. I hope their lives are a living hell going forward.

 

My niece and nephew and kids live in Gilbert.

[yabadabapal]

That is one dangerous job, being an LEO. My prayers and best wishes for his family. RIP.

[AZKomet]

Shuhandler, who became well known throughout the country when he handled information about the DUI arrest of former NBA great Charles Barkley, is the second Arizona officer killed in the line of duty in a little more than a month.

 

The incident with its massive crime scene is under investigation.

 

What a heartbreaking story.

 

Given the kind words I heard Charles Barkley express on talk shows toward his arresting officer, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is at this fallen officers funeral.

 

I lived on the west side of Phoenix, AZ for one year in 1985. In fact, during that time I earned my Associates Degree from Pheonix College. My house was near the corner of 59th Ave and Thomas Road. It was a nice, family oriented neighborhood back then. I am told that today the area is practically a gang riddled dump. When I rode my RT though Phoenix on my way to LA back in 2004, I hardly recognized the city. Obviously it's nothing like the small town I knew back in the '80's.

 

It's heartbreaking to learn that what was once a very nice, safe, family oriented place now reflects many of the very traits that pushed families away from other cities and toward Phoenix in the first place.

 

 

How true....we call Phx east L.A. now. I grew up here and want to leave it is so bad now.

Problem is where to go? I truly have to stay though as my lone mother is in need of care. I love Phx...just not what it has turned into.

 

 

 

 

 

[upflying]

Just awful.. couple of thoughts from an expert witness.

Why is a lieutenant making traffic stops? Where I come from, they are all administrators and push paper on the desk.

Why is a lieutenant making a stop without backup? He was 12 minutes into the stop before he was murdered. Where I come from, each traffic stop is immediately covered by another officer in a few minutes.

That chase ending stop in the middle of the road was an attempt at a "suicide by cop". Both unfortunately survived.

What's the criminal background on Redondo and Irrizarry? Willing to bet both are career criminals going in and out of the revolving door of justice filled with liberal compassion for the less fortunate.

The death was indirectly caused by judge(s) who decided to let these predators back out on the streets.

(jugular pulsating)

[ericfoerster]

Why is a lieutenant making traffic stops? Where I come from, they are all administrators and push paper on the desk.

Why is a lieutenant making a stop without backup? He was 12 minutes into the stop before he was murdered. Where I come from, each traffic stop is immediately covered by another officer in a few minutes.

 

What?

 

I am a Chief and I still perform traffic stops. I have at every department I've been at from 160 man to a 10 man. In fact I still go out and work criminal interdiction as I enjoy it. I even work it without a partner from time to time if I can't find someone who wants the overtime. I know the risk.

As for backup I don't think that we all are afforded that luxury. I worked several years in the wide open portions of West Texas where radios only looked cool in the console...they didn't reach anyone way out there. Many times I even worked where there was no cell coverage either.

 

My hat is off to the guy for getting out there and working like a cop should. Bars and stars don't make a cop. Getting out there and mixing it up with your troops makes respect an earned thing. All too often the brass commands respect and does very little to earn it.

 

I push paper as well, but it is the evil part of the job.

 

In any case we have lost a good one and that is sad.

[RandyBailey]

He was with my agency before transferring to Gilbert PD. For the past few years he worked as the PIO for Gilbert and drove a desk. He wanted to return to patrol and get back to policing. He was driving a marked patrol vehicle, made the stop and found the passenger had a warrant. He called for backup, then exited his patrol vehicle and approached the passenger side. He was shot once in the head.

 

Having worked patrol at night I followed a procedure that minimized the number of times I would approach the stopped vehicle. If I didn't feel comfortable or a records check showed a warrant I routinely called for backup and then stayed with my vehicle until it arrived.

 

I came REALLY close to getting shot about 10 years ago when I made a "routine" stop on a pickup that had pulled into a darkened trailer park; when I approached the driver I noticed the drugs and money piled on the passenger seat. After my backup arrived I pulled the driver out and as he exited the car the pistol that had been tucked between his legs fell out the door onto the street. The hammer was back and the safety was off.

 

I'll be going to the funeral on Wednesday. If you've ever been to a cop funeral you know just how sobering it is. Godspeed and God bless his wife and kids.

 

The shooter was not long out of DOC for agg ass and other charges including agg ass on a juv. He didn't want to go back to prison.

[upflying]

A Lt. who drives a desk for a few years as a PIO could explain a bit of the mind set. Lt's are command staff and politicians who rarely venture outside the station and seldom get involved in on-view street level activity.

His officer safety and street survival skills were rusty and not on the same levl as a pro-active street cop with 5 years on dogwatch in East Los Angeles.

Some Lt's feel their promotion is a form of having "paid their dues" and no longer need to expose themselves to the danger or endless workload of street level activity. The only time you see them is coming and going to work in their unmarked, take home cars.

Clearly Lt. Shuhandler missed the street action and took it upon himself to to self-initiate a traffic stop. Not saying command staff should not do this but most don't even carry a ticket book, flashlight or clip board.

The rare times I hear a lieutenant, captain or chief on the radio is because they are reporting something for a patrol officer to handle. We street grunts call it the "three D's" which means "discover, delegate and disappear".

I still don't understand the lack of cover or backup. Gilbert is a large urban/suburban PD with a lot of officers. It's not in a remote area. A lieutenant making a traffic stop is a rare event. The patrol cops know that commanders need help because they are usually unprepared for the stop. Cover and back up is automatic and routine.

[upflying]

Some radio transmissions from the slain Lt. It appears he was aware something was wrong and transmitted it over the air. Where was his cover,especially when he said, "he's not too happy to talk to me".

http://www.policeone.com/patrol-issues/articles/1998900-Audio-shows-slain-Ariz-officer-was-wary-at-stop/

[TyTass]

Man, I hate to read these incidents for so many reason. But on top of the tremendous sorrow for family, friends, colleagues, and the loss to the community he served, is the frustration.

 

Frustration with the fact that violence is so prevelent across the nation. Frustration with the unwillingness to spend money on law enforcement, and even less on incarceration.

 

The elephant-in-the-living-room attitude with regard to the need to expand and upgrade our prison systems get my jugglar going. From what I read, the lack of space (adequate or not) for prisoners translates directly to shorter sentences and early paroles. It seems to me we put all our hopes in prevention, hoping that the next hot-topic, political show-piece will prevent (or at least reduce) violent crime. And in the interim, the prisons are becoming more and more overloaded every day, with no end in site.

 

LEO's ... am I totally off mark here?

[EffBee]

First, a thank you to all our LEO's on this board who provide us a wealth of information and perspective on traffic, safety and citation issues. We're proud of your work and we're proud to have you and your experience on this board.

 

I also want to suggest that perhaps it would be best if you stick to those issues. There's a lot of information (public info, I'm sure, but nevertheless) that gets posted about the types of felony crimes being discussed in this thread. And I know personally, with two deputies in the family, that these things hit home with you very, very hard. Still, we'd like to make sure that neither you, nor this board, is ever drawn into any litigation, from either side, that might result from what's posted here.

 

Again, please use your absolute best judgment regarding what information you post.

 

Thank you.

[upflying]

Man, I hate to read these incidents for so many reason. But on top of the tremendous sorrow for family, friends, colleagues, and the loss to the community he served, is the frustration.

 

Frustration with the fact that violence is so prevelent across the nation. Frustration with the unwillingness to spend money on law enforcement, and even less on incarceration.

 

The elephant-in-the-living-room attitude with regard to the need to expand and upgrade our prison systems get my jugglar going. From what I read, the lack of space (adequate or not) for prisoners translates directly to shorter sentences and early paroles. It seems to me we put all our hopes in prevention, hoping that the next hot-topic, political show-piece will prevent (or at least reduce) violent crime. And in the interim, the prisons are becoming more and more overloaded every day, with no end in site.

 

LEO's ... am I totally off mark here?

Right on the mark and an example of what happens when you release an inmate early...

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=74719

[beemerman2k]

That PoliceOne.com site is a very good one. I spent some time reading some of the threads on that forum. Ideally, everyone who has any sort of criticism toward our LEO's would spend a day with them to see what their job is really like. I think that alone would bring a significant and collective hush across the nation.

 

Barring that, it would be nice if there was a forum like PoliceOne.com where the general public could log in on a read only basis to get an education as to the complexity of issues the average LEO faces everyday on the job. When the general public cannot even agree on how to handle a basic traffic stop, and when the stakes involved could be your very life, I think that kind of information would go a long way toward restoring the kind of respect and admiration toward our police departments.

[doc47]

How horrible.

 

And the perps were hoping to go out in a blaze of glory and now they are in satisfactory condition. I hope their lives are a living hell going forward.

 

+1

 

First, a thank you to all our LEO's on this board who provide us a wealth of information and perspective on traffic, safety and citation issues. We're proud of your work and we're proud to have you and your experience on this board.

 

Another +1

 

Willing to bet both are career criminals going in and out of the revolving door of justice.

 

Hey, Tallman! This is one guy who would love a chance to put those bastards in hell!

 

MODERATOR EDIT: Doc, your opinion is fine. But let's leave words like "liberal" and "conservative" out of it, and just call it what it is without the labels. Otherwise, it becomes politics, and that's not allowed.