Assassination Investigation

On November 1, Mayor Greg Nickels walked into the briefing room at
Seattle police headquarters downtown wearing a dark suit and grim face.
The previous evening, veteran officer Timothy Brenton, 39, had been
murdered in a brazen ambush in the Leschi neighborhood—the first
officer killed in such an attack since 1994. Behind Nickels stood four
of the city’s top-ranking officers, all wearing black bands over their
badges.

“We ask you to do a difficult and dangerous job, and you do it every
day with excellence,” Nickels said, addressing both the officers behind
him and the entire Seattle police force. “Please know that you are not
alone in this difficult time.”

The mayor called the incident “a cold-blooded, premeditated
shooting” and promised: “We will not rest until the assailant is
brought to justice.”

Brenton had a wife and two children, ages 8 and 11, and came from a
family filled with people devoted to public safety. His father is a
retired Seattle police officer. So is his uncle. His brother-in-law
works for the Seattle Fire Department. Brenton himself had worked for
the Seattle Police Department for nine years, most recently as a
field-training officer in charge of showing the ropes to new
recruits—one of whom was in the car with him during the ambush
and survived only because she was able to duck below the fusillade of
bullets.

The entire police department is now involved in the murder
investigation, and while no suspects have yet been named, detectives
are “looking at any and every possibility,” said police spokesman Jeff
Kappel on November 3. Though Kappel wouldn’t divulge further details,
looking at any and every possibility presumably involves reexamining an
incident that occurred on October 22, when three patrol cars and a
mobile precinct were burned in a suspected arson at a police department
maintenance yard not far from where the shooting of Brenton occurred.
No suspect has been named in that incident, either.

What police currently know about the murder is this: On October 31,
shortly after completing a 9:30 p.m. traffic stop, Brenton and a police
department trainee, Britt Sweeney, had parked their patrol car on 29th
Avenue near East Yesler Way. They were discussing how the stop had
gone. “Debriefing,” said Assistant Chief Jim Pugel, as he recounted the
events at the press conference with the mayor on November 1.

The patrol car was facing south. A small car—whitish or light
blue or silvery in color—approached from behind. As this car
pulled up alongside the officers’ patrol car, Sweeney sensed danger.
She shouted. She ducked. An unknown number of shots, fired from an
unknown weapon, slammed into the patrol car, killing Brenton instantly.
One of the bullets grazed the back of Sweeney’s neck; she was wearing a
protective vest beneath her uniform.

Sweeney called for backup. All available officers in the city
responded. She got out of the patrol car and fired back. She’d been on
the job as a trainee for a total of six months. Pugel said she showed
the coolness and good instincts of a 10-year veteran.

The vehicle the shots came from, containing an unknown number of
people, backed up, drove away, and disappeared. The maneuver, which
allowed the shooter’s car to avoid passing in front of the patrol car’s
onboard camera and also allowed the shooter to avoid using the
relatively busy Yesler Way as a getaway route, suggests a considerable
amount of forethought and determination to elude authorities.

“It’s a miracle she’s alive,” Pugel said of Sweeney. “This was an
assassination, and every resource is being used to bring it to a
conclusion.”

Police are looking at the patrol car’s onboard camera to see if the
suspected vehicle stalked it earlier in the evening. They’re also
talking to witnesses, following tips, and stopping vehicles that match
the description given by Sweeney. “We have people who may have seen
it,” Pugel said. “We’re still trying to determine exactly if they did
and who saw it immediately after.” On November 3, for instance, the
appearance of an old Chevrolet Monza on Capitol Hill—small, light
gray, beat-up—drew a huge police response. Officers ordered the
occupant out with guns drawn and examined the car’s grill (presumably
for bullet holes), but then quickly cleared the scene. “Probably
nothing,” Kappel said afterward, though he added that a lot of cars
matching that description are likely to be stopped as the investigation
continues.

Police also have arrested a man who was released from jail on
October 31 and may have made remarks about intended violence toward
police officers. However, Pugel downplayed the significance of the
arrest. Pugel asked the public for more tips and any photos taken on
Halloween night in Leschi that might have the suspected
vehicle—or anything unusual—in the background.

People with potentially helpful information should call the Seattle
police tip line (233-5000) or Crime Stoppers, which is offering a
$20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in
this case (800-222-8477, or text to 274637 with “Tip486” in the body of
the text). The Seattle Police Officers’ Guild is offering an additional
$40,000 reward, bringing the total to $60,000.

There had been no recent threats made against Brenton, according to
Pugel. “Other than him being a police officer,” he said, “there’s
nothing to indicate they were looking for him.”

A public memorial service for Brenton is scheduled for Friday,
November 6, at Key­Arena at 1:00 p.m., and a fund to help his
family has been set up. Donations can be made at any Bank of America
branch to the Brenton Family Assistance Fund.