Seattle cop-killing suspect charged with aggravated murder
Published 12:32 pm Thursday, November 12, 2009
SEATTLE — A man accused of fatally shooting a Seattle police officer on Halloween was charged today with aggravated first-degree murder, a charge that could carry the death penalty.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced the charge against 41-year-old Christopher Monfort accusing him of carrying out “a one-man war against the Seattle Police Department.”
Monfort also was charged in the Oct. 22 firebombings of three Seattle police cruisers and a mobile command post at a city garage, which prosecutors allege was an attempted hit on law enforcement.
Satterberg has 30 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty, though such decisions often are delayed to give defense attorneys more time to prepare.
Monfort is accused of killing Officer Timothy Brenton and wounding rookie officer Britt Sweeney Oct. 31 as they sat in a patrol car following a traffic stop. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
Monfort was shot Friday as police confronted him at his apartment in suburban Tukwila. Satterberg said three high-powered rifles were found in Monfort’s apartment, including the one used to kill Brenton, along with ammunition and homemade explosive devices.
Satterberg also said DNA links Monfort to the scene of the killing and the firebombing.
Monfort was charged with one count of arson and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. The latter charges stem from the officer’s wounding, an attempt to kill officers during the arson, and attempts to shoot police during his arrest.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Satterberg said. “This case is unique in that Monfort deliberately planned to confront police and kill as many officers as he could.”
Monfort was in stable condition Thursday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Satterberg said. He said arraignment for Monfort would wait until he could be released from the hospital.
Friday’s shooting happened as a memorial service for Brenton was finishing at KeyArena.
