Accused cop killer pleads not guilty to all charges
Christopher Monfort has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder and attempted murder in the Oct. 31 shooting that killed Officer Timothy Brenton and wounded his partner, Britt Sweeney.
Seattle police detectives shot Monfort at his Tukwila apartment after they said he pointed a gun at them. The shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down. He spent several weeks at Harborview Medical Center, and Monday's court hearing was his first appearance in public since his arrest.
In King County Superior Court, Monfort was seated in a wheelchair as Brenton's widow, Lisa, sat in a viewing area with Brenton's mother and officers from the Seattle Police Department, including Sweeney.
He said nothing and his attorneys entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf.
Lisa Brenton said she has spent the last month feeling helpless, afraid and confused, and initially did not plan to speak at the arraignment.
"This morning I woke up and changed my mind," she said after the court hearing. "I wanted to walk into court with my head held high. I was tired of being afraid and helpless.
"My husband is not here anymore to protect and defend his family," she said through tears. "However, we the Brenton family are here to protect and defend his memory. I can describe my husband in two words: Humble integrity. He lived his life with a quiet strength and a swift sense of humor, along with a strong sense of right and wrong."
King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg last month accused Monfort of planning and executing a "one-man war against the Seattle Police Department."
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Investigators said DNA evidence found at the scene of Brenton's murder and the earlier arson at a police maintenance yard were a match to Monfort. His DNA was found on identical American flag bandannas dropped at both scenes as "calling cards," according to court documents.
Investigators also said a rifle found in Monfort's apartment is an identical ballistic match to the weapon used to kill Brenton and wound his partner, Britt Sweeney, in the city's Central District neighborhood.
In addition to charges stemming from the Oct. 31 shooting, prosecutors accuse Monfort of placing bombs at the scene of the Oct. 22 arson that were designed to explode and kill police, firefighters and medics who arrived to battle a blaze that destroyed a large command vehicle. The bombs were placed under two parked patrol cars.
Inside Monfort's apartment, police said they found three rifles, including the one used to kill Brenton, and a pistol-grip shotgun, as well as several bombs consisting of propane bottles wrapped with duct tape, nails protruding. Some had very short fuses, indicating Monfort could light them and throw them at police, and another had a fuse sitting on the heating element of his kitchen stove, authorities said.