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LightningBoy
Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 1446
Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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 Wed May 11, 2005 4:20 pm One Brave Cop: A salute to Sgt. Gerald Vick. |
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Last week, a St. Paul, MN police officer was gunned down in the line of duty. Today, was his funeral, and I thought it would be proper to have a thread of rememberance for his bravery.
The original story of what happened:
| Quote: | St. Paul (WCCO) Several people have been taken into police custody and are being questioned for the killing of St. Paul police sergeant Gerald D. Vick.
Vick, 41, was shot multiple times at 2:20 a.m. in the 900 block of Reaney Avenue in St. Paul, near Erick�s Bar. He was taken to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington said he did not believe Vick was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Investigators said Vick was working undercover, with a second officer, Sgt. Joe Strong, when they came across two people in an alley. That�s when Vick was shot several times by at least one of the suspects.
Harrington said Strong returned the gunfire, but it is unknown if either suspect was hit by that gunfire. It is also unknown if the suspects knew they were shooting at police officers.
�I stay up the block and I heard gunfire, like somebody emptied out two or three clips,� said one witness. �We came up the block to see what was going on. By the time we got up to the block, police had the block all locked down.�
Other people said they heard 10 to 12 shots.
Strong was not injured in the incident. He has been taken back to St. Paul police headquarters and is helping in the investigation. Bars and other local businesses in the area have given police surveillance tape from the time of the shootings, which police are using in their investigation.
Harrington said a weapon was recovered in the area, in the vicinity of where one of the suspects was taken into custody. Investigators are working on forensics, to determine if that weapon was the one used to shoot Vick.
The suspects were unarmed when they were taken into custody, Harrington said. At least two of the people in custody fit the clothing description of the suspects who shot Vick, Harrington said.
The first suspect is described as 25-30 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches in height. He has very short hair and was seen wearing a white shirt with black sleeves and black pants with a stripe down the side.
The second suspect is also 25-30 years old, about 6 feet tall and 160-170 pounds. He has short hair, a light colored shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and blue jeans. He was also wearing tennis shoes with dark soles.
Police are continuing to search an area on the eastside of St. Paul for the suspects. Officers are going door-to-door, combing the area for any sign of the suspects.
A triangular area bordered by 7th Street, Interstate 94, Arcade and Earl Streets is closed while police search for the suspects. The closed area covers about one and a half miles. Police believe the suspects fled the area on foot after the shooting.
Harrington said the area will remain closed while police continue to investigate and ensure they have the suspects in custody.
There are four schools in the area, which will be open Friday. The schools will operate in a modified lockdown and students will not be allowed outside.
"This is a grim day," Harrington said. "This is a day when the lights of one of the great heroes of this department has gone out."
Vick is described as a veteran sergeant in the vice unit of the department. He joined the St. Paul police department in 1989. In his 16-year-career with the department, he earned two Medals of Valor, one in December 1990 for saving a 1-year-old child from a fire. The second was in 1997, for shooting and killing an armed suspect.
Vick and Strong were investigating prostitution in bars earlier in the night. He did not believe the suspects were known to Vick.
Vick had a wife and two children. He is described as a popular, decorated officer, who knew the danger of being a police officer, but loved the job.
His brother said as a child Vick loved catching butterflies and as a cop, he loved catching bad guys.
Officers have been seen with black ribbons over their badges, in honor of Vick. Flags have also been lowered to remember Vick.
�The department is gonna miss the hell out of him,� Harrington said.
The State Patrol, Roseville Police, Maplewood Police, Minneapolis Police, Oakdale Police, the ATF and the National Guard are assisting in the search for the suspects. A National Guard helicopter is also assisting in the search.
More than 100 officers are involved in the search.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the St. Paul Police tip line at 651-266-5820.
This is the first time in 11 years a St. Paul police officer has been killed. In 1994, Guy Harvey Baker killed officer Ron Ryan Jr. in a parking lot. At the time, Ryan Jr. was checking on a sleeping person.
Baker then killed Officer Tim Jones a few hours later while Jones was involved in a massive manhunt for Baker. Baker also killed Jones� canine partner, Laser.
Ramsey County deputy Chris Tayson was shot Feb. 23 in St. Paul. He has since recovered from his injuries and has returned to the force.
(WCCO) |
| Quote: | December 1990: Vick rescues a 15-month-old and a 3-year-old from a house fire at 562 Sherburne Ave. With the help of others, he attempts to rescue two other victims, but is unable to. He helps organize fundraising for the survivors.
March 1991: Vick receives the Medal of Valor for his rescue efforts at the December 1990 house fire. He is the seventh St. Paul officer to receive the award since its creation in 1972.
January 1992: Vick pulls Robby Christopher Ensign of Woodbury out of a roof-top vent at Stroh's Brewery. Ensign and an accomplice are charged with third-degree burglary.
August 1994: Vick is one of four officers exonerated by a Ramsey County jury of using excessive force against Wende Borg-Thompson, who had made several crank emergency calls to police while she was apparently intoxicated.
April 1997: Vick shoots and kills robbery suspect Demetrius Hill, 18, during a confrontation at 1335 Westminster Ave., following an armed robbery at the apartment building. Hill points a handgun at Vick before he is shot. Vick later receives his second Medal of Valor.
October 1998: St. Paul police recognize three finalists for the 1997 Officer of the Year Award. Vick, a nine-year veteran, is one of them. |
Rest in peace, Sgt. Vick.
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Kyle Reese
Cadet Gunnery Sergeant
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 5672
Location: The United States of America
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| Wed May 11, 2005 10:28 pm |
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I so hate it when police are killed. Maybe I'll become one someday. Anyways, Rest in peace Sergeant. *salutes*
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Wed May 11, 2005 10:36 pm |
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A sad story. This is just yet again MORE proof of the bravery that our brave men and women in blue do for our country. RIP, Sergeant.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Thu May 12, 2005 12:37 am |
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More proof for America's gun issues you mean.  But rip.
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LightningBoy
Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 1446
Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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| Thu May 12, 2005 12:50 am |
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| Dirt wrote: | | More proof for America's gun issues you mean. But rip. |
The shooters, like always, were not legally licensed. Gun control has nothing to do with this, and to say that it does is idiotic.
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Thu May 12, 2005 12:52 am |
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Maybe you just got more guns around than other nations, there's other ways than legal one's to obtain them you know.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Thu May 12, 2005 4:55 pm |
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| Dirt wrote: | | More proof for America's gun issues you mean. But rip. |
No, I don't mean that. I mean that this shows more and more of the courage of our brave men and women in blue.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Thu May 12, 2005 4:57 pm |
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I know, next time I'll insert a "cue slick comment" 
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