Comments on: Officer responding to Pa. home disturbance killed

By: brwnavy

brwnavy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:11:01 +0000

Damn!! Prayers and my sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Officer Crawshaw.

This just makes me sick and angry. Although I’ve never been a police officer I have many friends who were, some still are. Far too many have died in the line of duty.

By: Butch

Butch — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:33:35 +0000

after the suspect approached the car, opened fire with what appeared to be an assault rifle and fled, Chief Howard Burton said.

Sad and disgusting. There should be a ‘shoot to kill’ order on this freakin’ monster.

By: mrchuck

mrchuck — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:52:29 +0000

All police are a “target of opportunity”, and always have been.
We just have had to be totally aware of this and never let your awareness go into neutral. 24-7-365.
I am retired now, but always, always I am aware of where I am and where I put myself.
These habits are no different than when I was cleaning out tunnels back in the good old days of 1961-65 MACV-SOG.
Be careful out there!
God bless that fallen officer.
PS, there are going to be more LEO deaths like this, until the “herd of perps is balanced out”.

By: ng4779

ng4779 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:06:52 +0000

Truly another terrible loss. Thanks for posting.

By: BobF

BobF — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:32:44 +0000

Along with these shooting there will be another attack on gun ownership by citizens.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the officer and for all those who put their lives on the line to protect us.

By: Silver Fox

Silver Fox — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:29 +0000

Fred both you and Gawfer bring out some interesting points, many which seem like common sense to someone like myself who knows little of police tactics. I would bet that this was a high crime area and as such extra precautions were in order, but thats just speculation on my part. The bottom line is that there does seem to be an increase of this type of incident, therefore police departments all over the country need to take a hard look at their protocols and make changes where necessary. I saw this story on FOX news online earlier and thought about posting on it, but then decided not too, as I feel a lack of knowledge on the subject. A good post Fred.

By: TexasFred

TexasFred — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:49:53 +0000

The officer, Michael Crawshaw, was parked two or three houses away from the scene while waiting for backup when he was shot, Penn Hills police Chief Howard Burton told WPXI-TV. He had been on the Penn Hills police force for two years. Another Ambush, Another Officer Slain - PoliceLink

As a few more *details* come out, maybe he wasn't parked directly in front of the house, but DAMN, to be sitting IN the car?

By: Gawfer

Gawfer — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:26:54 +0000

Last night while returning from the grocery store, my wife and I noticed a Sheriff’s Helicopter circling over a nearby neighborhood, so I decided to investigate. We found the location being surveilled, but it wasn’t until we were exiting the culdesac a patrol officer arrived on scene.

We have noticed lately, that prior to any ground activity, air support is deployed for law enforcement which adds a safety factor to these domestic calls. I can’t help but think had there been an air unit supporting officer Crawshaw, the ‘eyes in the sky’ would have likely alerted him to the impending danger, preventing his death.

I too believe there was a deficit in protocol. Perhaps parking too close to the residence, or positioning himself in a visually impaired attitude, or taking directions from someone who was not on scene and had limited knowledge of the current situation. Whatever the reason, the loss is unacceptable.