Family members of the Chicago area man, who was killed after the cold-blooded murder of a Virginia state trooper, are now saying he had a grudge against law enforcement and was longing for a “showdown” with police.
On Thursday, as troopers and police were conducting a safety drill at a Greyhound station in Richmond, Virginia, James Brown III walked up to Virginia trooper Chad Dermyer, said a few words, then quickly pulled out a handgun and shot the officer several times in the chest. The trooper was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital.
Brown was himself killed when another nearby trooper pulled his weapon and returned fire.
Now the suspect’s aunt is telling WRVR TV that Brown “always liked the criminal side” and had a grudge against police.
“He had a lot of anger about the police in the past,” Aurora, Illinois, resident Edith Brown said. “He pretty much thought he wanted to be infamous … in terms of having a showdown. He always praised those people who got into shootouts with police.”
The woman also alleged that her nephew vowed he would not go back to prison and would “fight it out” with police before being apprehended.
Richmond’s Channel 6 also notes Brown had a lengthy record of violent crime. Brown “had been charged with murder, intent to kill, aggravated battery with a firearm, failure to obey police, resisting a corrections officer, aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, aggravated battery of an unborn child, numerous drug charges, intimidation, domestic battery, felony possession of a weapon, among many driving charges.”
“It’s unfortunate these are the days we’re living in, where folks want to harm law enforcement,” Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said on Thursday. “We just want our officers to end their shifts and to go home to their families.”
Two bystanders were also wounded with non-life threatening injuries during the shootout.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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