Law Enforcement News Briefs - Series of Reports
on Officer Duty-Related Deaths; 1998
Excerpted from: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Friday, January 2, 1998 Vol. 2 - 002
LOS ANGELES (EmergencyNet News) - A day after being shot in the head while struggling with an armed New Year's reveler, a police officer who was assigned to stop peopke from firing guns in the air died on Thursday. The armed subject had died earlier after being shot by two other police officers.
Killed was LAPD Officer Steven Gajda, age 29. He was shot a few minutes before midnight outside a house in East Los Angeles. According to LAPD Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy, Gajda and a fellow officer "saw a party that was a little out of control, a little boisterous, so they stopped by to issue a warning. Apparently, there were some gang members at the party. Some people fled the police and we ran after them."
Officer Gajda chased one man who appeared to have something in his waistband, and the man shot the officer during a struggle. Moments later, two other officers shot and killed the 17-year-old suspect, who had been wanted for murder since February.
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SANTEE, SOUTH CAROLINA (EmergencyNet News) - A South Carolina state trooper was shot and killed on New Year's Eve after he pulled a car over for speeding. Two people were later arrested in the murder. According to the South Carolina Public Safety Department, Sgt. Frankie L. Lingard, age 39, and Deputy Lyn Shirer had stopped a car after it passed them doing at about 80 mph on Interstate 95. As Sgt. Lingard approached the driver's side, a man shot him and sped away.
When another police officer pulled the car over a short time later, a woman jumped out with her two children and the driver again took off. Police then chased the car through parts of three counties before it crashed. The driver sustained a head injury.
The man and woman, both age 25, were both charged with murder. The motive for the shooting was under investigation.
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA (EmergencyNet News) - One police officer was killed and another was slightly wounded when a man hiding in his house with a semi- automatic rifle opened fire on the officers on New Year's Day. A shootout ensued and ended when the gunman killed himself.
Killed was 26-year-old Fairbanks Police OfficerKevin Lamm. Lamm became only the second police officer killed in the line of duty in Fairbanks in 90 years. The wounded officer was grazed by bullets. He was treated and released.
According to police, the shootout began early Thursday evening when Lamm and two other officers went to a house to check on the subject, who friends described as suicidal. The subject was hiding behind a blanket tacked over a doorway. The 27-year-old gunman was hit in the abdomen and arm by police before shooting himself in the head.
All reports: (c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1998. All Rights Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
The ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT is a daily subscription publication of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This publication specializes in Law Enforcement/Fire/EMS/Disaster/Crisis Management and Medical Issues.
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