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Watching The Cops Title: Deputy killed by inmate will be missed, sheriff says COUNCIL BLUFFS, Ia. — An inmate stole a sheriff's deputy's firearm and shot two deputies, one fatally, before stealing two vehicles and committing other crimes in two states as he tried to flee Monday, authorities said. Killed was Deputy Mark Burbridge, 43, a 12-year veteran of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office. "We're going to miss him," Sheriff Jeff Danker said at an afternoon news conference in Council Bluffs. "I have been in law enforcement for almost 40 years, sheriff for almost 25 years. This is one of the things you hope never happens." The other deputy who was shot, Pat Morgan, 59, was in stable condition at an Omaha hospital Monday afternoon. Two other bystanders were injured during a series of violent clashes in Council Bluffs and Omaha. Danker on Monday laid out the timeline of the escape and recapture of Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 23, who had just been sentenced at the county courthouse to decades in prison in the shooting death of a man he was trying to rob last year. Correa-Carmenaty and a female prisoner were being unloaded back into the jail from a transport van by Burbridge and Morgan at about 10:55 a.m. Correa-Carmenaty was shackled, Danker said, but he attacked the deputies, took one of their weapons, and shot both men. He got into the transport van and drove it through a closed garage door. Not far from the jail entrance, Danker said, he got out of the van and unsuccessfully tried to carjack a pickup. Correa-Carmenaty shot the driver, Jerry Brittain, 30, of Council Bluffs once in the neck and then drove off again in the van, Danker said. Brittain was treated at an Omaha hospital for his injuries; a passenger in his truck was uninjured. A few blocks away, Correa-Carmenaty apparently abandoned the van in the 2500 block of Avenue I, where it ran off the road. Amy Kanger, 31, of Glenwood was driving in the area and stopped to see if everybody was OK. Correa-Carmenaty kidnapped Kanger at gunpoint, Danker said, forcing her back into her car. Kanger was released at an Omaha liquor store at about 11:15 a.m. — just 20 minutes after Correa-Carmenaty first escaped. Kanger contacted Omaha police, who matched the license plate number on the stolen Nissan Sentra to a report from Council Bluffs. An officer found the Sentra and followed in an unmarked vehicle. Other police cars joined and began a chase. Correa-Carmenaty made numerous turns and evaded stop sticks during the chase, police said. But he crashed into a wall when he tried to enter Interstate Highway 480 at Cuming Street. He was arrested without further incident, said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who said the prisoner's hands were free. Correa-Carmenaty was jailed in Omaha on numerous new charges. Danker said the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will lead an inquiry into what happened. Correa-Carmenaty could face new prosecution in both Iowa and Nebraska. Danker said he didn't know how many shots were fired during the initial struggle at the jail's sally port, where prisoners are loaded and unloaded, or whether either deputy returned fire. Footage from cameras at the facility will be reviewed, he said, as will policies regarding prisoner transfers. He said he was sure that Correa-Carmenaty was shackled when he was loaded into the van from the courthouse. "Sometimes prisoners are able to defeat those restraints," Danker said. "There are a number of times you hear across the country" of similar cases, he said, adding that there was much investigators still needed to learn about what happened Monday. Danker was in his office Monday morning when he was told shots had been fired at the jail. When he got there, both deputies were being treated, he said. Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy Pat Morgan Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy Pat Morgan (Photo: Special to the Register) "It's just a shocking scene to walk into," he said. Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said he and other authorities were withholding some information about the investigation in hopes of holding a fair trial for Correa-Carmenaty on new charges in Pottawattamie County. Wesley Correa-Carmenaty, 23, had just been sentenced at the county courthouse to decades in prison in the shooting death before shooting two deputies and escaping the jail. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges in late January and received a 45-year sentence. At Monday morning's sentencing, Wilber said, Corea-Carmenaty was unapologetic, to the extent that the prosecutor said he began to regret the plea arrangement. Correa-Carmenaty said in court that "the gentleman who died died because he was an idiot," Wilber said. Attorney Michael Hooper, who court documents say was representing Correa- Carmenaty along with attorney Patrick Sondag, was at the sentencing Monday morning. He did not witness any part of the shooting or attempted escape that followed, he said. “Right now our thoughts are just with the deputies involved,” Hooper said. “We worked with them at the courthouse for a long time …” “We’re having a hard time with this ourselves.” When Pottawattamie County Deputy Megan Wirt heard a call come out about a shooting Monday morning, she went straight to the office. "I went to see if I could help,” Wirt said. “It was definitely shocking." When Wirt was interviewing for a job with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office almost two years ago, what should have been a stressful situation was instead filled with jokes. It was all thanks to Burbridge. “Mark was always joking around," Wirt said. "Always happy, always in the office telling jokes." Deputy Logan Lieber saw Burbridge every day when he dropped off papers at the Pottawattamie Courthouse, where Lieber works. No matter how short or long the interaction, Burbridge made people happy, he said. When Lieber learned Burbridge was shot, he helped block off streets. “I was shocked,” Lieber said. “I went over there and tried to find the guy who did it.” Courthouse workers said they all knew him and he was like family to them. While both Wirt and Lieber are newer to the sheriff’s office, they said deputies who knew Burbridge for longer are extremely upset. “They’re not ever going to forget anything about this day,” Wirt said. Brooke Thielen, an emergency room nurse who lives in Council Bluffs and whose husband is a firefighter there, said many in the community are in disbelief. “Police, fire, medical and dispatch is kind of all one big family,” she said. “When something tragic like this happens, it affects all these entities.” She was familiar with Burbridge from interactions between law enforcement and hospital workers but said she did not know him personally. “Everybody just loved him,” she said. “He was a great guy — a great family man. Always very friendly. It’s just going to be a very hard loss for everyone to take.” The entire community is trying to cope as an “overwhelming sadness” is felt, Thielen said. “The community has always been very supportive of law enforcement here,” she said. “Their family has lost one of their brothers, so they’re just trying to cope. I don’t think it’s set in yet. People are in shock, really.” Mark Burbridge was shot by 24-year-old Wesley Correa-Carmenaty on Monday morning. Correa-Carmenaty was apprehended later in the morning following a two- state pursuit. Danny Lawhon/The Register Law enforcement in Omaha — where part of Monday’s crimes took place — is showing strong support for Council Bluffs, Thielen said. Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco, 29, was killed in the line of duty there on May 20, 2015, when a wanted felon opened fire on police before being fatally shot by a police sergeant. “They’re just trying to be there for each other,” Thielen said. “All police, fire, medical, and dispatch hearts are hurting today over this great loss,” she said in a Facebook message prior to being interviewed. “Our hearts have been broken senselessly.” A procession was held Monday afternoon to bring the fallen deputy back to Iowa, according to a Twitter account by a local Council Bluffs police officer. Around the jail, several streets were closed off as Council Bluffs police officers investigated the scene. Down the road from the jail, shoppers at the local Wal-Mart lamented the nearby shooting. "It's sad whenever it's an officer who is killed on duty," said Alexis Beck, 20, of Council Bluffs. Ariana Odoo, 17, of Council Bluffs, also said she was saddened by the death. "There's just a lot going on around here," Odoo said. "It was sad it was a shooter who already shot somebody here." The deputy is the 187th peace officer from Iowa to die in the line of duty, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and the first since a Des Moines police sergeant and Urbandale police officer were fatally shot in their patrol vehicles on Nov. 2, 2016. Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that their thoughts and prayers were with the victims' families and the law enforcement officers who serve with them. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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