Murder of Timothy Brenton

The murder of Timothy Brenton occurred on October 31, 2009, in the Central District of Seattle, Washington, United States. Timothy Q. Brenton (February 9, 1970 – October 31, 2009), an officer with the Seattle Police Department, was seated in a parked patrol car with another officer discussing a traffic stop when a gunman stopped his vehicle alongside the patrol car, opened fire on the two officers, and fled the scene. Brenton died at the scene and his partner sustained minor injuries. One week later, as a public memorial service for Brenton was being held at KeyArena, the suspected gunman was apprehended and seriously wounded after being shot by police officers in Tukwila.

The shooting is believed to have been a targeted attack against police officers in general, not against either officer individually. The suspect arrested in connection with the murder, Christopher Monfort, was also charged in connection with the October 22, 2009, firebombing of Seattle police vehicles at a city maintenance facility. No clear motive was established but he had left fliers discussing police brutality, and had expressed opinions against wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was accused of being a terrorist who waged a "one man war" against the police by authorities.

One Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer was killed and another injured. They were:

On the night of October 31, 2009, at approximately 10:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7), Brenton and his partner, trainee officer Britt Sweeney, were both sitting in their patrol car following a traffic stop at 29th Avenue South and East Yesler Way in the Central District. Sweeney was sitting in the driver's seat with Brenton in the passenger seat. As they were debriefing the traffic stop they had just performed, a vehicle pulled up alongside their police car and someone inside opened fire with a rifle. Sweeney ducked, and a bullet grazed the top of her head and her back. Brenton, meanwhile, was mortally wounded in the attack. The suspect's vehicle reversed, turned around, and fled the scene in the direction from which it had come. As the vehicle was fleeing the scene, Sweeney managed to call for help, exit the patrol car, and return fire.