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Attached is a email from the Chief of Martinez, Ca PD concerning the death of one of their officers on 9/6/2008. It was sent to various LE agencies in the state. This situation turned into an active shooter incident immediately upon arrival of responding units. Consider how YOU would handle the situation.
I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate all of the calls & e-mails supporting both me & my Department during this difficult time. In particular the Office of the Sheriff, the California Highway Patrol, Pleasant Hill PD & Concord PD have all gone far & above anyone's expectations in rendering assistance to my employees & the citizens of Martinez. I also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the correct version of what occurred here on Saturday; as usual, preliminary information is rarely accurate.
MPD Dispatch received a 911 call @1135hrs of an ex-husband (HMA 49yrs) who had arrived at his wife's place of employment on Pacheco Blvd near Morello Ave. Apparently as the HMA was exiting his vehicle, the ex-wife locked the front door due to his prior threats; additionally she had an active TRO against him.
As two (2) MPD officers were en-route, updated info was that the HMA had shattered the front window of the business & was displaying a handgun. Moments before the first officer arrived, the majority of the patrons fled out the back door into a parking lot; the ex-wife hid in a storage closet while the HMA followed the patrons into the rear parking lot. While in the parking lot, the HMA's teenaged daughter confronted him & pleaded with him to leave; the HMA told his daughter he intended to kill his ex-wife & the rest of his children.
The suspect then ran to an upstairs apartment adjacent to the parking lot as the first MPD unit (K9-1) arrived, two (2) minutes after the call was received. As that officer exited his vehicle with his MP-5, he immediately heard gunshots from the upstairs apartment. Sgt Starzyk arrived with 30 seconds of the first unit & deployed his AR-15 >rifle, realizing that they had an active shooter situation. Sgt Starzyk & K9-1 approached the upstairs apartment safely as there were no windows facing their approach; as they neared the apartment they encountered an "L" shaped intersection with two (2) facing apartment doors. At this time they heard small children & an adult female screaming from inside the apartment; as they got within ten (10) feet of the front door, the HMA extended his left arm out & around the front door & fired two (2) rounds from a .38 handgun, both of which struck Sgt Starzyk in the neck & shoulder areas above his vest. Both Sgt Starzyk & K9-1 engaged the HMA with .223 & .40 cal, after which Sgt Starzyk fell to the floor.
A second K9 unit (K9-2) arrived & as he attempted to remove Sgt Starzyk, the suspect again began firing from behind the partially closed front door. K9-1 again engaged the HMA, striking him multiple times through the door. At this point K9-2 sent his K9 into the apartment, locating the HMA inside the front door; the K9 bit the suspect & began dragging him out of the apartment. As K9-2 approached to view the HMA, he saw that the HMA was still armed and waving his handgun at the K9; K9-2 engaged the suspect with his handgun & ended the confrontation. Inside the apartment three (3) small children were found hiding in a closet, along with a hysterical HFA; located in the kitchen was a deceased HFA & another WFA who was actually under the body of the HFA. The survivors were removed from the apartment while additional MPD & CCSO units arrived to assist Sgt Starzyk.
In closing, I wanted all of you to know that Sgt Starzyk's death is a tragedy but it was not in vain; five (5) people are alive today due his & his officer's actions. Please share this story with your respective departments'
Thanks for listening.
Chief Tom J. Simonetti
Martinez Police Department
525 Henrietta Street
Martinez, CA
I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate all of the calls & e-mails supporting both me & my Department during this difficult time. In particular the Office of the Sheriff, the California Highway Patrol, Pleasant Hill PD & Concord PD have all gone far & above anyone's expectations in rendering assistance to my employees & the citizens of Martinez. I also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the correct version of what occurred here on Saturday; as usual, preliminary information is rarely accurate.
MPD Dispatch received a 911 call @1135hrs of an ex-husband (HMA 49yrs) who had arrived at his wife's place of employment on Pacheco Blvd near Morello Ave. Apparently as the HMA was exiting his vehicle, the ex-wife locked the front door due to his prior threats; additionally she had an active TRO against him.
As two (2) MPD officers were en-route, updated info was that the HMA had shattered the front window of the business & was displaying a handgun. Moments before the first officer arrived, the majority of the patrons fled out the back door into a parking lot; the ex-wife hid in a storage closet while the HMA followed the patrons into the rear parking lot. While in the parking lot, the HMA's teenaged daughter confronted him & pleaded with him to leave; the HMA told his daughter he intended to kill his ex-wife & the rest of his children.
The suspect then ran to an upstairs apartment adjacent to the parking lot as the first MPD unit (K9-1) arrived, two (2) minutes after the call was received. As that officer exited his vehicle with his MP-5, he immediately heard gunshots from the upstairs apartment. Sgt Starzyk arrived with 30 seconds of the first unit & deployed his AR-15 >rifle, realizing that they had an active shooter situation. Sgt Starzyk & K9-1 approached the upstairs apartment safely as there were no windows facing their approach; as they neared the apartment they encountered an "L" shaped intersection with two (2) facing apartment doors. At this time they heard small children & an adult female screaming from inside the apartment; as they got within ten (10) feet of the front door, the HMA extended his left arm out & around the front door & fired two (2) rounds from a .38 handgun, both of which struck Sgt Starzyk in the neck & shoulder areas above his vest. Both Sgt Starzyk & K9-1 engaged the HMA with .223 & .40 cal, after which Sgt Starzyk fell to the floor.
A second K9 unit (K9-2) arrived & as he attempted to remove Sgt Starzyk, the suspect again began firing from behind the partially closed front door. K9-1 again engaged the HMA, striking him multiple times through the door. At this point K9-2 sent his K9 into the apartment, locating the HMA inside the front door; the K9 bit the suspect & began dragging him out of the apartment. As K9-2 approached to view the HMA, he saw that the HMA was still armed and waving his handgun at the K9; K9-2 engaged the suspect with his handgun & ended the confrontation. Inside the apartment three (3) small children were found hiding in a closet, along with a hysterical HFA; located in the kitchen was a deceased HFA & another WFA who was actually under the body of the HFA. The survivors were removed from the apartment while additional MPD & CCSO units arrived to assist Sgt Starzyk.
In closing, I wanted all of you to know that Sgt Starzyk's death is a tragedy but it was not in vain; five (5) people are alive today due his & his officer's actions. Please share this story with your respective departments'
Thanks for listening.
Chief Tom J. Simonetti
Martinez Police Department
525 Henrietta Street
Martinez, CA
