SEATTLE, Wash. — A Seattle homicide detective testified in court Thursday that the man on trial for killing Officer Timothy Brenton refused commands and shot at officers when they confronted him at his Tukwila home.
On Nov. 6, 2009, police from around the state had gathered in Seattle for Brenton’s funeral. As the funeral was ending, certain officers found the suspect, Christopher Monfort, at the Terrace Apartments in Tukwila.
Det. Rolf Norton said he had gone with other officers to check out a car that matched the suspect’s vehicle description. He thought they would just be waiting on a tow truck to pick up the 1980 Datsun.
But Norton said when they arrived, he learned SWAT would be coming to knock on the car owner’s door.
He said Monfort came out of his apartment and was seen at the bottom of a driveway, pacing back and forth.
“I said, 'Police. Take your hands out of your pockets. I need to talk to you,’” Norton said.
Norton added that Monfort “looked right at me and said, 'F- that' - and took off running.”
Norton later saw Sgt. Gary Nelson screaming that Monfort had tried to shoot him.
Norton heard Nelson say, “He's got a gun. He pulled the trigger. Tried to shoot me.”
Norton said he gave Monfort commands to stop and show his hands, but Monfort kept going up a stairwell. He said when Morton reached the top, he pointed a gun at them.
Norton fired twice. He said he was about to fire again, but he saw Monfort had fallen.
In the hallway going into court, Christopher Monfort told KIRO 7, “Americans are being murdered every day in this country. Every day. There's no way on this green earth that the founding fathers would have stood for that. Eleven thousand Americans died to free this country in the war for independence.”
At the end of the day, he added, “The police are murdering people all across the country in every state. The police are not being tough on crime. Police ARE the crime.”