Police Detain Suspect In Deaths Of Two Iowa Officers

The suspect believed to have killed two police officers in Des Moines, Iowa, on Nov. 2 is has been detained by area police. The suspect, Scott Michael Greene, 46, was taken into custody in Dallas County, just west of Des Moines.

At 1:06 a.m. on Nov. 2, Greene is believed to have killed an Urbandale police officer in his patrol car, according to the Los Angeles Times. Later, in a separate incident at 1:26 a.m., Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony Beminio was found shot.

“There’s a clear and present danger if you’re a police officer,” Des Moines Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said, reports the Des Moines Register.

“The puzzling thing about this is that [Urbandale Police Officer Justin Martin] didn’t have any idea or warning or fear that anything was wrong,” Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty said. “We’re assuming [Greene] walked up on foot.”

The officers were found 2 miles apart in their patrol units.

Greene has had a history of police incidents, including one on Oct. 14 when he was forced from a high school football game after he waved a Confederate flag during the national anthem.

“I was offended by the blacks sitting through our anthem,” a YouTube comment believed to be under Greene’s account wrote. The comment is attached to a video showing Greene waving a Confederate flag in confrontation with several black women and arguing with police officers who are asking him to leave. “Thousands more whites fought and died for their freedom. However this is not about the Armed forces, they are cop haters.”

In 2014, Greene was jailed for resisting a pat-down by an Urbandale police officer, reports The Associated Press.

Earlier in 2016, the Des Moines Police Department saw two other officers killed on duty when a drunk driver hit their vehicle.

“I don’t even know where to begin on how bad this year is,” Parizek said. “This is what we do. We come in day in and day out, we go out there and provide the same level of service regardless of what’s going on in our personal and professional lives.”

Sources: AP via KFSN, Los Angeles Times, Des Moines Register / Photo credit: Rodney White/The Des Moines Register