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Seattle Police Shoot and Kill Washington Senior

January 2, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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Early Thursday, Seattle police shot and killed a University of Washington senior who was dressed in a World War II-era German uniform and was brandishing a rifle and bayonet, the Seattle Times reports. The shooting occurred at an apartment complex near campus.

[Miles Allen Murphy] was killed about 2 a.m. Thursday when police responded to neighbors' complaints that several men were shooting vintage, military-style rifles and shotguns into a dark alley near the 5200 block of 17th Avenue Northeast, police spokesman Jeff Kappel said.

When police were called, Kappel said, neighbors pointed out an apartment in a large white house. When police knocked on the door, one of the suspects opened the door brandishing a long rifle with a large bayonet attached.

Uniformed police officers warned the man several times to drop his weapon. He didn't, Kappel said, and he pointed it at one of the officers. Two officers shot him several times. He died at a hospital Thursday morning, Kappel said....

Police searching the apartment after the incident found the large collection of German military regalia and a lot of alcohol, Kappel said.

Murphy was described by friends as an "eccentric" history buff.

Tags:: history,; police,; University of Washington,; World War II

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i never seen or heard of a shooting of police with his gun why i cant understand that many bullets but nothing fired on cops i guess thats what we must do to a cop when they pull out there weopens

ronald of HI 7:43PM July 15, 2009

Everyone is always so quick to judge and criticize police when they are required to take action. Unless something has changed, this is what they are paid to do.
A senior is not "just a kid." The outcome of this incident is tragic and if he would have put the weapon down, it could have possibly been prevented. The point, the police are not to blame. I assure you the officers involved did not want to take anyone's life and this incident will affect them for the rest of their lives'.
Imagine making the salary of a police officer and walking a day in their shoes. They see the worst of everything, run toward gunshots, and have to deal with things you would never imagine. Try looking up articles on police stress. How much money would it take for you to run towards every dangerous situation that arises to help others?
Our profession is the only one where people who have never done the job, always think they know it better than we do. We put our life on the line everyday for you, only to be criticized for our actions.

Ben of TN 2:48PM February 03, 2009

I think it is simple. If you have a weapon and a police officer orders you to disarm yourself, you have two choices.
It's really easy to sit back and critisize the police isn't it? Sit back and point fingers at everybody else.
So after one of the boy's stray bullets finds its way into the house of one of the neighbors living next door, that's acceptable. And when the same bullet punctures the neighbor's skull, that's still okay. I guess then we have a perfect example of "involuntary man-slaughter".
I think that Americans need to take respnsibility for themselves instead of always trying to blame everything on everybody else and face the fact that there may be consequences for their actions.

Sereena of CA 6:15AM January 05, 2009

Seattle Police Shoot and Kill Washington Senior

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