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Christopher Monfort

Active

2009–2009

Region

Seattle, Washington, USA

Status

Convicted

Victims

1

On Halloween night 2009, Christopher Monfort ambushed two Seattle police officers in their parked patrol car in the Leschi / Central District area, killing Officer Timothy Brenton and wounding his trainee partner; nine days earlier he had firebombed police vehicles at a city maintenance yard. Police tracked him through his car and shot and paralyzed him during his arrest in Tukwila a week later. A King County jury convicted him in 2015 and sentenced him to life without parole, and he died in prison in 2017.

Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Timothy Brenton, 39 · October 31, 2009

  A Seattle police field training officer, Gulf War veteran, and father of two.

Timeline of locations

1. October 22, 2009
   City maintenance yard, South Charles Street (Crime scene)

   Early on October 22, 2009, four Seattle police vehicles were set on fire at a city maintenance facility. Monfort was later convicted of arson for the attack.

2. October 31, 2009
   29th Avenue and East Yesler Way (Crime scene)

   Officer Brenton and his trainee partner were parked here after a traffic stop when a car pulled alongside and the driver opened fire, killing Brenton and wounding his partner. The Leschi community dedicated a memorial at the spot in 2010.

3. November 6, 2009
   KeyArena (now Climate Pledge Arena) (Other)

   A public memorial service for Officer Brenton was held at KeyArena on November 6, 2009, after a procession from the University of Washington. Monfort was confronted as the service was ending.

4. November 6, 2009
   Monfort's apartment complex, Tukwila (Arrest, approximate area)

   Detectives approached Monfort in the parking lot of his Tukwila apartment complex because his car matched one seen near the shooting. When he drew a handgun, officers shot him. Investigators found a rifle and explosive devices in his apartment.

5. November 6, 2009
   Harborview Medical Center (Other)

   Monfort was taken to Harborview with life-threatening injuries and was left paralyzed from the waist down.

6. November 2013
   Washington Supreme Court (Temple of Justice) (Court / trial)

   Before trial, the Washington Supreme Court overturned a judge's ruling that had taken the death penalty off the table, allowing King County prosecutors to seek it.

7. 2015
   Washington State Penitentiary (Prison)

   Monfort served his sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, where he was found dead in his cell on January 18, 2017. Coroners attributed his death to amitriptyline intoxication; the manner of death was undetermined.

8. June 2015
   King County Superior Court, Seattle (Court / trial, approximate area)

   A King County jury rejected Monfort's insanity defense and convicted him in June 2015 of aggravated first-degree murder, attempted murder, and arson. On July 23, 2015, the same jury unanimously rejected the death penalty, and he was sentenced to life without parole.

Sources

• Murder of Timothy Brenton (Wikipedia)
• SPD statement regarding Brenton murder investigation (Seattle Police Department, 2009)
• Christopher Monfort is guilty of murdering a Seattle police officer (KNKX, 2015)
• Cop killer apologizes to victim's family after guilty verdict (KOMO, 2015)
• Monfort gets life in prison for ambush of Seattle police officers (KUOW, 2015)
• Coroners: Seattle cop killer Monfort died of amitriptyline intoxication (KOMO, 2017)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.