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From WXIA-TV Atlanta, GA ( http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81476 ):
DeKalb Cop Killed by Murder Suspect
Reported By: Jaye Watson
Last Modified: 7/1/2006 10:19:59 AM
A man killed during a shootout that left a veteran DeKalb County police officer dead was wanted out of Louisiana on a murder charge, police officials confirmed on Friday.
The slain officer, 33-year-old Dennis Stepnowski, was shot during a foot chase Thursday night at an apartment complex off North Hairston Road in Stone Mountain. He later died at DeKalb Medical Center. His funeral is planned for Monday.
"He was a brilliant officer. Like I say, he's going to be tremendously missed," said Officer Jason Gagnon of the DeKalb Police Department.
The 25-year-old suspect -- Lucas Palmer -- was killed when Stepnowski and his partner returned fire. Palmer was wanted on a first degree murder charge for killing and burning the body of another man this past February in St. Tammany Parish north of New Orleans. One man is in custody in the Louisiana case but police believe Palmer was the trigger man and thought he had fled to the Houston area.
Stepnowski is one of two officers who confronted Palmer at the complex about 7 p.m. Thursday. In the ensuing gun battle, several nearby buildings were hit.
Neighbors described the ordeal as a raging gun battle with bullets flying blindly into the walls of several units. "All of a sudden they went 'boom boom boom' and it kept going boom until 10 [shots were fired]," one child said.
Another witness who did not want to be identified for the fear of reprisal said he saw the confrontation turn deadly. He said the suspect had a machine-gun type weapon and kept screaming that he wasn't going back to jail.
He says that the gunman shot first, hitting Stepnowski in the neck, before being taken down by return gunfire.
Officer Stepnowski had been with the force for 12 years and served on the SWAT team. He received the Medal of Honor for saving a fellow officer's life eight years ago by pulling the officer from a burning vehicle after a car accident.
Officer's Funeral Arrangements
Viewing:
Sunday, 5pm-8pm
Pattersons Funeral Home
4550 Peachtree Road
Funeral:
Monday, July 3rd
Noon
First Baptist Church of Atlanta
4400 North Peachtree Road
Burial:
A procession will escort the body of Officer Stepnowski to a cemetery in Covington for burial.
DeKalb Cop Killed by Murder Suspect
Reported By: Jaye Watson
Last Modified: 7/1/2006 10:19:59 AM
A man killed during a shootout that left a veteran DeKalb County police officer dead was wanted out of Louisiana on a murder charge, police officials confirmed on Friday.
The slain officer, 33-year-old Dennis Stepnowski, was shot during a foot chase Thursday night at an apartment complex off North Hairston Road in Stone Mountain. He later died at DeKalb Medical Center. His funeral is planned for Monday.
"He was a brilliant officer. Like I say, he's going to be tremendously missed," said Officer Jason Gagnon of the DeKalb Police Department.
The 25-year-old suspect -- Lucas Palmer -- was killed when Stepnowski and his partner returned fire. Palmer was wanted on a first degree murder charge for killing and burning the body of another man this past February in St. Tammany Parish north of New Orleans. One man is in custody in the Louisiana case but police believe Palmer was the trigger man and thought he had fled to the Houston area.
Stepnowski is one of two officers who confronted Palmer at the complex about 7 p.m. Thursday. In the ensuing gun battle, several nearby buildings were hit.
Neighbors described the ordeal as a raging gun battle with bullets flying blindly into the walls of several units. "All of a sudden they went 'boom boom boom' and it kept going boom until 10 [shots were fired]," one child said.
Another witness who did not want to be identified for the fear of reprisal said he saw the confrontation turn deadly. He said the suspect had a machine-gun type weapon and kept screaming that he wasn't going back to jail.
He says that the gunman shot first, hitting Stepnowski in the neck, before being taken down by return gunfire.
Officer Stepnowski had been with the force for 12 years and served on the SWAT team. He received the Medal of Honor for saving a fellow officer's life eight years ago by pulling the officer from a burning vehicle after a car accident.
Officer's Funeral Arrangements
Viewing:
Sunday, 5pm-8pm
Pattersons Funeral Home
4550 Peachtree Road
Funeral:
Monday, July 3rd
Noon
First Baptist Church of Atlanta
4400 North Peachtree Road
Burial:
A procession will escort the body of Officer Stepnowski to a cemetery in Covington for burial.
RIP..