Honoring Officer Brenton: AM procession, PM memorial

To start the day, here’s a quick update to recap and collect the information about today’s events paying tribute to Officer Tim Brenton, six days after the 39-year-old former West Seattleite lost his life in the first deadly attack on Seattle Police in 15 years:

-More than 1,000 vehicles are expected in the memorial procession from the U-District to KeyArena, through Capitol Hill, with the expected time frame 9 am-noon. Here’s a map created by SDOT.

-Effects on bus routes have been catalogued by Seattle Transit Blog.

-The memorial ceremony/service is open to the public, scheduled to start at KeyArena at 1 pm, with doors opening at 11 am.

We will have coverage through the day, but these are the toplines for now. Also, thanks to Shelley for pointing out that SPDBlotter has published Officer Brenton’s biography, including the mention of his West Seattle High School years in the ’80s (as reported here and remembered here). The attack on Officer Brenton and in-training partner Officer Britt Sweeney, who survived, has not yet been solved, but significant new clues were made public yesterday – see them here. We’ll add links, images and more, as today’s events begin to unfold. One more note – remember the fund for Officer Brenton’s family; contribution information is here.

9 Replies to "Honoring Officer Brenton: AM procession, PM memorial"

  • mitch November 6, 2009 (7:49 am)

    I can never figure out why some complete strangers get so weird and weepy over things like this. What a tragedy for his family, but he’s cop, not a head of state. Shouldn’t we be doing the same thing for every soldier killed in our 2 wars.

    The nut-case that did this must be thrilled that we’re shutting part of the city because of his handiwork.

    And watch out folks – when cops get weird and weepy anything can happen.

  • Brittany November 6, 2009 (10:08 am)

    People are so weepy because this was a man who was serving to protect us from danger here in Seattle, when someone who selfishly and psychotically shot him for no reason.

    Be respectful mitch and don’t post things like that on here…

  • Brittany November 6, 2009 (10:15 am)

    And if we did this for every soldier that has died in the war it would be endless. Soldiers serve this country for our freedom and to put themselves in danger to serve. Im not saying that it is okay for soldiers to die in the war but it happens more and is expected more than when an officer is shot in cold blood…

    It was a parked car, discussing a traffic stop, when someone pulled up next to him and shot him.. and also his partner that was in the car with him..

    How can you not understand why people are mourning and weepy over this??

  • Chuck and Sally\'s Van Man November 6, 2009 (10:17 am)

    What an absolutely worthless post there, Mitch. While I agree that the (costly) public display of solidarity may appear over the top, it’s important to remember that when a cop is killed (especially in the fashion this one was) it unsettles the psyche of the community. If we do not honor our fallen police officers and instead just chalk it up to “oh, just another cop died, big deal…” then society begins to lose the sense of value police officers bring to our own lives and further degradation of their role occurs.

    Sadly, by the vary nature of their job some loss of life is expected with soldering. With cops, it feels like a more personal and immediate loss. They are living and working among us. The death of a cop represents the loss of a very important stone in our society’s foundation. Honoring each police officer’s death is a chance for us to come together and rebuild that foundation, if only in our hearts.

    I, for one, am very sorry for the loss.

    Chuck

  • star55 November 6, 2009 (10:35 am)

    Mitch, you s.o….. I hope you do not need one of those wierd or weepy officers today. You …ugh!!!! words cannot even begin to express my sadness for you and your loss of compassion to the human race.

  • Steve November 6, 2009 (10:43 am)

    I think the entire city of Seattle should be saddened by what has happened here. I work right next to the Precinct where Officer Brenton was working and I saw all of the other Police officers who worked with him during the procession. What I saw was a sobering sense of reality and many of them had tears in their eyes. Clearly Officer Brenton was a respected well liked member of this community and someone who will be greatly missed. My heart goes out to the officers in the Seattle East Precinct and to Officer Brenton’s family he is leaving behind. Thank you for putting it on the line for us Tim. You paid the ultimate price for keeping our streets safe. (To the individual who did this) You just robbed a woman and two children of their husband and father. I hope you come to realize what you have done and on how many levels you have hurt this community. Please turn yourself in.

  • Anne November 6, 2009 (11:58 am)

    As the wife of a police officer who has served for over 30 years,I know it never crossed his mind to ask”will anyone weep for me if something happens?” as he went off to work.The words Protect and Serve truly mean something to him.Thank goodness-right Mitch?
    May Officer Brenton rest in peace and may his family & fellow officers find some comfort in the tears and prayers of a grateful community.

  • Paul in Gatewood November 6, 2009 (2:31 pm)

    RIP, Officer Brenton. Thank you for your service, it won’t be forgotten.

  • mitch November 6, 2009 (3:11 pm)

    Again, my heart goes out to the family. My own kid loves Halloween and one of the first things I thought of when I heard about the shooting was that his poor family will now hate that word and holiday, probably for generations. One horrible second that changed everything for them.

    I’ve worked with cops and one of the first things you notice is that they’re pretty much like everyone else. They go work, try to do the best job they can, collect their wages and go home. For the most part it’s a good career with decent pay and hours, and if you like guns and fast driving it’s a great job. And most cops I’ve met like both. Me too. Sure it can be dangerous, but that’s part of the allure. If you’re professional and keep your wits about you, the dangerous moments are few and far between, and most cops go years without having to draw their guns.

    My annoyance is with the word hero, and all the sentimentality around that. Why is Tim Brenton any more a hero than a logger in Aberdeen who works 15 back breaking hours a day trying to support his family for half the money a Seattle cop makes? It’s certainly a lot more dangerous and selfless, if that counts as heroic.

    People don’t become cops to save the world and it’s childish to think of them as super heroes. It’s an interesting job that pays well, and draws the good as well as the bad, like any job.

    This was a senseless act of violence and to glorify it with maudlin histrionics no doubt thrills the a**hole that did this. Tim Brenton was just another working guy trying to support his family who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think the shallow fascination the press and some of the public have with the murder is creepy and weird. And demeans Tim Brenton.

Sorry, comment time is over.