Two bailiffs killed by inmate during attempted jail break, police say

[GennGreymane]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.75553d4ccc0b

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. — Two bailiffs were killed and a deputy sheriff wounded in a shooting Monday afternoon at a courthouse in Berrien County, Mich., when an inmate being transferred from a cell grabbed a gun and opened fire as he tried to flee, authorities said.

The gunman — identified by police as 45-year-old Larry Darnell Gordon from Coloma, Mich. — was shot and killed by other bailiffs, but only after he had shot four people, two of them fatally, Sheriff L. Paul Bailey said at a news conference. In addition to the bailiffs and the deputy, the inmate shot a civilian in the arm.

“All indication is that he was trying to break out of jail,” Bailey said.

Bailey identified the bailiffs who were killed as Joseph Zangaro, 61, and Ron Kienzle, 63.

Zangaro, head of courthouse security, retired from the Michigan State Police and has been working with the county trial court system since 2004. Kienzle, a former police sergeant and serviceman, has been working for the court system since 2005.

“I lost some friends today,” Bailey, who was visibly shaken, said during the briefing. “So I’m here with a heavy heart.”

The incident began on the courthouse’s third floor shortly before 2:30 p.m. As Gordon was being taken out of a holding cell to go to a courtroom for an arraignment, a fight took place and he “was able to get the deputy’s gun away,” Bailey said.

Gordon moved out of that area, shot and killed the two bailiffs, and then took “several hostages for a short period of time until he tried to leave through another door,” Bailey said. That’s when two other bailiffs shot and killed Gordon.

Mugshot of Larry Darnell Gordon. (Berrien County Sheriff)
All the officers involved were armed.

Jail records provide little information on Gordon, but they indicate he is a 44-year-old white man who was booked in April. (Bailey said he was 45, and the sheriff’s office listed that age in a statement early Tuesday morning.) The records do not list charges against him. Bailey said Gordon was being held in the county jail for “several felony charges.”

He did not appear to be handcuffed, Bailey said.

“We had no indications that he had been violent. He hasn’t been in our jail” previously, Bailey said. “At this time, we had no warning signs of him doing anything but we’re going to continue to investigate it.”

James Atterberry Jr., a 41-year-old deputy sheriff, was shot in the arm. Atterberry has worked for Berrien County since August 1998 and joined the Sheriff’s Office in July 2002.

He was taken to nearby Lakeland Regional Hospital and treated in the emergency room, Bailey said, and was in stable condition.

“I know that we’re all thinking of the two bailiffs who were killed and the sheriff’s deputy who was wounded in a shooting at a courthouse in Michigan yesterday,” Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said Tuesday morning during an appearance on Capitol Hill, according to her prepared remarks. “The Department of Justice stands ready to provide whatever help we can to state and local authorities as they investigate this heinous crime and our sincerest condolences are with the friends, colleagues and loved ones of the devoted public servants that we lost.”

“Our hearts are torn apart,” Bailey said of the shooting deaths. “They were our friends. They were my colleagues. I’ve known them for over 30 years. So it’s a sad day.”

There were 10 court officers working Monday, Bailey said.

Chuck Heit, the Berrien County undersheriff, said in a telephone interview that both bailiffs were armed. Heit said they were both “deputized by the sheriff,” which makes them the latest law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty — their deaths coming just days after a gunman killed five police officers in Dallas.

That brings the number of law enforcement officers fatally shot by suspects while in the line of duty to 27, up from 16 a year ago — and slightly ahead of the average number at this point in the year (25) shown in FBI data over the last decade.

[After Dallas, nation’s officers on edge as line-of-duty deaths outpace last year]

Bailey had said earlier that “several” civilians were hurt in the incident, including the one who was shot. Later on Monday, Bailey mentioned only one civilian being taken to the hospital.

“They went for shelter once the shooting occurred and other brave officers were able to come to their rescue and take the shooter down,” Bailey said.

Hours after the shooting, yellow police tape stretched around the courthouse as sheriff deputies in uniform and military gear patrolled the perimeter. People from the neighborhood gathered outside the perimeter of the building, which sits atop a ridge overlooking Lake Michigan in the heart of downtown St. Joseph.

Most stood silently, in shock that the mass violence they had read about in other parts of the United States had come to their small city.

“You live in a small town and think it won’t happen here, and then it does,” said Sally Crumley, 76, a retirement home worker. She said she worries that her son, a police officer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will be vulnerable following the s

(shootings in St. Joseph and the events in Dallas. “It’s just sad. I don’t know what’s going on. Everything just seems to be in chaos these days.”

(more in article, too long to post all)

[zenkai]

yeah I read that yesterday, just shows how fast shit can go bad when working in law enforcement.

[GennGreymane]

yeah I read that yesterday, just shows how fast shit can go bad when working in law enforcement.

It also shows a couple other issues.

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I wonder why this attack on law enforcment is not getting attention.

[zenkai]

This is a very long article for some routine violence.

routine violence smh

[zenkai]

I'm sorry for thinking it's weird to spend so many words on something that will be forgotten about by tomorrow.

I won't forget, I am sure ill use it in a future argument, you people tend to forget things that don't fit your agenda.

[Sativex]

Should have been cuffed...

I think that a 61 & 63 year old might be to old for the position of dealing with violent criminals.

[Dug]

I won't forget, I am sure ill use it in a future argument, you people tend to forget things that don't fit your agenda.

What agenda? It's a sad story but it looks like an inmate trying to escape and nothing more. The reason Dallas gets so much news coverage is because it was motivated by racial tension. So in a way yeah this story is essentially routine violence

[Mad_Murdock]

It also shows a couple other issues.

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I wonder why this attack on law enforcment is not getting attention.

It was on the front of CNN's website yesterday. And some hardcore gangstas on the PTR were applauding pigs being killed.

[Deleted]

(more in article, too long to post all)

You know, you could just do what everyone else does, and post a link, perhaps an excerpt of the article, and then start the discussion off with your own thoughts about the matter.

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I wonder why this attack on law enforcment is not getting attention.

Or this?

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/11/us...-officer-trnd/

Texas inmates break out of cell ... to save guard's life

(CNN) - A group of Texas inmates are being hailed as heroes after they bust out of a holding cell -- to save a corrections officer's life.

[zenkai]

You are delusional.

No, just more informed than you.

[TheMediator]

I won't forget, I am sure ill use it in a future argument, you people tend to forget things that don't fit your agenda.

People get hit by cars, people have heart attacks, cops are killed by criminals and criminals are killed by cops. Yes, this is routine, day-to-day stuff.

What is not routine, or rather, what is not meant to be routine, is when innocent people are killed by the police.

[Underverse]

It also shows a couple other issues.

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I wonder why this attack on law enforcment is not getting attention.

Not sure what you're trying to say. Is it because the perpetrator is white? Because if that's what you're trying to say, then the obvious answer to your question is that this was not a hate crime.

[TwoNineMarine]

Should have been cuffed...

I think that a 61 & 63 year old might be to old for the position of dealing with violent criminals.

A lot of Bailiffs are around that age. It's seen as a cushy retirement type gig.

Either way it sucks they died. All criminals that get processed through there should be cuffed if they are around any sort of weapon.

I'm glad they killed him before he could do more damage though.

[monkmastaeq]

stop this police violence !!!!!!!!!!

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

I wonder why this attack on law enforcment is not getting attention.

Sadly, the story has no zazz. There's really nothing in it that anyone can use to further their agendas.

[zenkai]

People get hit by cars, people have heart attacks, cops are killed by criminals and criminals are killed by cops. Yes, this is routine, day-to-day stuff.

What is not routine, or rather, what is not meant to be routine, is when innocent people are killed by the police.

Tell me how its a day to day routine when 42 died by gun fire in 2015

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You're attempting to fill in your blanks of what you know of me with your idea of other people to the exclusion of acquiring that information about me. That is the opposite of being informed. That is self-perpetuating ignorance.

Says the person who thinks this is routine violence when it isn't, and the next time you claim it I will point this out

[Damajin]

Should have been cuffed...

I think that a 61 & 63 year old might be to old for the position of dealing with violent criminals.

Definitely should have been cuffed, that's pretty lax for a guy with felonies.

Bailiffs tend to be these older police/military types because overall the job is less demanding than a regular police type job but is still in the mix of law enforcement and the like, which tends to attract and keep the same type of people their entire lives. Going to be hard pressed to find younger guys who want to be court bailiffs honestly.

[Templar 331]

Still safer than delivering pizzas.

[zenkai]

This specific instance does not happen literally every day, but there is nothing noteworthy about an unrestrained violent offender taking the opportunity and being violent to escape prison. This is pretty much the type of behavior you'd expect, which is why they're generally not running around unrestrained and free in the first place.

It is note worthy, bailiffs don't die everyday, the ignorance to assume it's not noteworthy is astounding. If it wasn't noteworthy why did you bother to even click the link or even reply to it, your very actions prove other wise. If it truly doesn't matter, then cease replying.

[TheMediator]

Either way it sucks they died. All criminals that get processed through there should be cuffed if they are around any sort of weapon.

A quick google says he was cuffed. Seems like it would have been a breach of policy, or else very bad policy, not to cuff someone in such a circumstance. Hell, I was cuffed when I was brought into the local station for public intoxication (charges dismissed) so for a crime of a more serious nature you think they'd take better precautions, especially if they're out-of-shape individuals (I was honestly more upset in my police interaction when they took my belt and shoes, that feels a lot more degrading than being cuffed from my perspective).