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Summary: Two Iowa police officers were killed during an ambush Wednesday morning with a suspect now in custody.
Two police officers were found shot in the front seats of their squad cars early Wednesday morning. Urbandale Officer Justin Martin and Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony Beminio were would in their cars about 2 miles apart. Martin was declared dead at the scene while Beminio died at the hospital. Investigators believe 15 to 30 shots were fired at Martin.
A suspect has been taken into custody after he waived down a natural resources officer in a county over from where the shootings occurred. It is believed that Scott Michael Greene, 46, shot the two officers as they each sat at an intersection. Neither officer was responding to calls or had radioed in about a confrontation.
Read Police Officer Killed by Red Bull Heir.
Greene has not been officially charged but a number of tips and leads suggest charges will be filed soon. Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said that despite the fact that Urbandale police have had runins with Greene, there is no immediate indication that either officer has had direct contact with him. Greene was asked two weeks ago to leave a high school football game.
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Parizek further stated as he held back tears, “On the surface right now … it doesn’t look like there was any interaction between these officers and whoever the coward is that shot them while they sat in their cars. In all appearances it looks … that these officers were ambushed. These guys were gunned down sitting in their car, doing nothing wrong.”
See Baton Rouge Police Killer Admitted Ties to Domestic Terrorist Group.
Greene was asked to leave the football game after waving the Confederate flag in front of “people of color” during the national anthem. The incident apparently made Greene upset and claimed the police were infringing on his rights. Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty explained, “He said he was invoking his First Amendment rights, and we were trampling on them.”
He complied and left school property to continue his display on public sidewalks. He was warned to “cease and desist” and was also in the process of determining when he could return to the school property. Greene’s daughter attends the high school.
Beminio was with the force for 11 years, serving as a school resource officer and robbery homicide detective. He was married with children. Martin was 24 years old and had just finished the academy and field training this year.
At least 51 police officers have been shot fatally in the country this year, the highest number since 2011 when 73 were killed.
Do you think Greene will be convicted? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
To learn more about recent police shootings, read Sister of Dallas Sniper Posts Racist Rant Night before Killing Spree.
Photo: flickr.com
