Sick

On 31 October, Seattle policeman Timothy Brenton was killed while sitting in a police car, debriefing a trainee officer. The trainee, Britt Sweeney, escaped with minor wounds to her head and back. The suspected murderer is now in custody.

On 29 November, nearly a month after Timothy Brenton's death, four officers from Lakewood, WA, were targeted in an unrelated attack. Sergeant Mark Renninger, and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards all died at the scene. Only Officer Richards was able to respond, shooting gunman Maurice Clemmons in the stomach before dying. Maurice Clemmons is now dead.

And finally, 21 December, two Sheriff deputies responded to a domestic-violence call in Pierce County. Upon entering the house, a man in the upstairs opened fire on them. They responded, but received many wounds. The man who had let the officers in, and a teenage girl barricaded themselves in a room with the deputies, called 911, and started First Aid. One deputy is in critical condition; the other, stable. The killer is dead.

In a little under 60 days, five police officers have been killed, three wounded. These killings are so surprising, in part, because Washington has not been known for violence toward law enforcers. It's sickening. Please keep the officers and their families in your prayers.