Pray for the family of this Hero.........
I am saddened by the frequency of incidents where Officers are being fired upon.
This is a sign of the times I fear. Yall be careful, anyone who will not hesitate to shoot a Police Officer is a very dangerous person indeed. I am glad the perp was killed.
My condolences to the family of SWAT Officer Stepnowski.
DeKalb officer, suspect dead after shootout
By SAEED AHMED, BILL MONTGOMERY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/30/06
The father of the DeKalb County police officer killed in a shootout Thursday night said today that his son died doing the police work he loved.
"He loved his work; he lived for it," Dennis R. Stepnowski said of his 33-year-old son. "Our biggest loss is, he never got to enjoy life."
Sgt. Charles Dedrick said the officers were seeking a man they considered suspicious.
Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski died late Thursday at DeKalb Medical Center, where he was taken in critical condition after the 7 p.m. shooting at the Mountain Crest apartments on North Hairston Road.
Stepnowski, a member of the department's SWAT unit, had been with the DeKalb force about 12 years, his father said. He previously had been a sheriff's deputy in metro Atlanta.
Stepnowski and another officer got involved in a shootout with a man at the apartment complex near Stone Mountain. It was not immediately clear why they were pursuing the man.
Police have not released details of the shooting and have not identified the officer who was with Stepnowski.
This morning, a representative of the DeKalb police department was with the family at their home on Lake Lanier as the elder Stepnowski recalled his son's dedication to police work.
"His co-workers say he was the type of cop they wanted behind them if they were going in somewhere," Stepnowski said. "I liked to tell him he was wacky."
Detective Stepnowski was a member of the team sent from DeKalb to help with security for the G8 conference in June 2004 when members of the world's leading economic powers met for three days on Sea Island, off the Georgia coast.
He said his son was a physical fitness fanatic — "He was in the gym every day" — and had been married but had no children — "unless you call three cats children, which he did." He lived in Loganville.
As the family started the task of making funeral arrangements, the elder Stepnowski, a retired plant manager for General Electric, said Dennis was "the perfect son."
Officers today were wearing a strip of black tape on their shields, a formal sign of mourning for a fallen comrad.
"And I'm not just saying that," said his father. "He didn't smoke, he didn't drink. He was just a model citizen."
Police coming off the morning watch at 7 a.m. said they had been informed of Stepnowski's death during their 10 p.m. roll call.
Officer Cory Waldrop described Stepnowski as an "experienced, highly trained officer."
He said a death in the line of duty has a sobering effect on other officers, but fear can't keep you from doing the job.
"To do this job, being scared is what gets you through the night. It keeps you on your toes. If you're not scared when you go out on this job, you shouldn't be in it," Waldrop said.
Said Officer M.J. Fudali Jr., also coming off the morning watch shift: "The thought is always there. It's just part of the job. Everytime you go out there, you run risks."
Sgt. Charles Dedrick, the police department spokesman, said only that Stepnowski and another officer saw a man, determined him to be "suspicious" and ran after him. He would not say why the officers considered the man suspicious.
Dedrick said the officers were on routine patrol in the area, and were not responding to a 911 call of a "suspicious person."
At some point during the foot chase, "shots were fired," Dedrick said, without elaborating on whether the suspect fired first and whether one or both officers returned fire.
The suspect was killed, and Stepnowski was wounded and taken to DeKalb Medical Center.
Police have not yet identified the suspect, but some who knew him at the complex said he was a New Orleans native who moved to the area after Hurricane Katrina.
By 9 p.m., police had herded at least three people into patrol cars, and were poring over the grassy lawn that houses the apartment playground, near where the shooting occurred. At least 10 yellow markers were placed on the ground, each denoting a shell casing.
Shortly before midnight, police were still at the apartment complex, trying to round up and talk to witnesses.
Joanie Thompson said she was on the phone with a friend in New York when she heard a series of shots ring out.
"I screamed on the phone, 'My son, my son,'" she said. Her 11-year-old son had gone outside to play, and she feared he may have been in the playground area where the sound of the shots came from.
She rushed outside and saw one officer on his back next to a tree, with another person keeled over nearby, she said.
Her son was safe. He was playing with friends in front of a neighboring building and had not seen or heard anything, she said.
Thursday night's incident was the second police-related fatal shooting in DeKalb this month. The first, on June 5, also occurred on North Hairston Road.
In that incident, an officer responding to a call for "trouble unknown" was met by a man waving his arms outside a home.
Another man then fired shots at the officer, and the officer returned fire, killing him.
That officer was slightly injured during the exchange of gunfire. The man who had been waving his arms also was wounded.
Thursday night, dozens of officers rushed to DeKalb Medical Center upon hearing of the latest shooting. They stood glumly, awaiting word on Stepnowski's condition.
A short time later, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones and interim police Chief Nick Marinelli broke the news of the officer's death to the group.
Some officers hugged one another for consolation. Some others simply paced back and forth with their heads bowed.
Stepnowski had joined the department in 1994 and was a sort of mentor for many of the rookie officers, his colleagues said.
Two years ago, while scrolling through an Internet site memorializing fallen officers, Stepnowski came across the name of a patrolman who died in the line of fire in Schenectady, N.Y, where he spent his childhood.
"I am thankful you [chose] to protect the people we grew up with," Stepnowski posted on the site. "I am just sorry that you had to pay the ultimate price. I hope your death does not go forgotten."
Today, like any other day, hundreds of officers will visit the Officer Down Memorial Page. There, they will likely write similar messages of condolences, this time for Stepnowski.
— Staff writers Tom Opdyke and David Milliron contributed to this report.
I am saddened by the frequency of incidents where Officers are being fired upon.
This is a sign of the times I fear. Yall be careful, anyone who will not hesitate to shoot a Police Officer is a very dangerous person indeed. I am glad the perp was killed.
My condolences to the family of SWAT Officer Stepnowski.
DeKalb officer, suspect dead after shootout
By SAEED AHMED, BILL MONTGOMERY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/30/06
The father of the DeKalb County police officer killed in a shootout Thursday night said today that his son died doing the police work he loved.
"He loved his work; he lived for it," Dennis R. Stepnowski said of his 33-year-old son. "Our biggest loss is, he never got to enjoy life."
Sgt. Charles Dedrick said the officers were seeking a man they considered suspicious.
Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski died late Thursday at DeKalb Medical Center, where he was taken in critical condition after the 7 p.m. shooting at the Mountain Crest apartments on North Hairston Road.
Stepnowski, a member of the department's SWAT unit, had been with the DeKalb force about 12 years, his father said. He previously had been a sheriff's deputy in metro Atlanta.
Stepnowski and another officer got involved in a shootout with a man at the apartment complex near Stone Mountain. It was not immediately clear why they were pursuing the man.
Police have not released details of the shooting and have not identified the officer who was with Stepnowski.
This morning, a representative of the DeKalb police department was with the family at their home on Lake Lanier as the elder Stepnowski recalled his son's dedication to police work.
"His co-workers say he was the type of cop they wanted behind them if they were going in somewhere," Stepnowski said. "I liked to tell him he was wacky."
Detective Stepnowski was a member of the team sent from DeKalb to help with security for the G8 conference in June 2004 when members of the world's leading economic powers met for three days on Sea Island, off the Georgia coast.
He said his son was a physical fitness fanatic — "He was in the gym every day" — and had been married but had no children — "unless you call three cats children, which he did." He lived in Loganville.
As the family started the task of making funeral arrangements, the elder Stepnowski, a retired plant manager for General Electric, said Dennis was "the perfect son."
Officers today were wearing a strip of black tape on their shields, a formal sign of mourning for a fallen comrad.
"And I'm not just saying that," said his father. "He didn't smoke, he didn't drink. He was just a model citizen."
Police coming off the morning watch at 7 a.m. said they had been informed of Stepnowski's death during their 10 p.m. roll call.
Officer Cory Waldrop described Stepnowski as an "experienced, highly trained officer."
He said a death in the line of duty has a sobering effect on other officers, but fear can't keep you from doing the job.
"To do this job, being scared is what gets you through the night. It keeps you on your toes. If you're not scared when you go out on this job, you shouldn't be in it," Waldrop said.
Said Officer M.J. Fudali Jr., also coming off the morning watch shift: "The thought is always there. It's just part of the job. Everytime you go out there, you run risks."
Sgt. Charles Dedrick, the police department spokesman, said only that Stepnowski and another officer saw a man, determined him to be "suspicious" and ran after him. He would not say why the officers considered the man suspicious.
Dedrick said the officers were on routine patrol in the area, and were not responding to a 911 call of a "suspicious person."
At some point during the foot chase, "shots were fired," Dedrick said, without elaborating on whether the suspect fired first and whether one or both officers returned fire.
The suspect was killed, and Stepnowski was wounded and taken to DeKalb Medical Center.
Police have not yet identified the suspect, but some who knew him at the complex said he was a New Orleans native who moved to the area after Hurricane Katrina.
By 9 p.m., police had herded at least three people into patrol cars, and were poring over the grassy lawn that houses the apartment playground, near where the shooting occurred. At least 10 yellow markers were placed on the ground, each denoting a shell casing.
Shortly before midnight, police were still at the apartment complex, trying to round up and talk to witnesses.
Joanie Thompson said she was on the phone with a friend in New York when she heard a series of shots ring out.
"I screamed on the phone, 'My son, my son,'" she said. Her 11-year-old son had gone outside to play, and she feared he may have been in the playground area where the sound of the shots came from.
She rushed outside and saw one officer on his back next to a tree, with another person keeled over nearby, she said.
Her son was safe. He was playing with friends in front of a neighboring building and had not seen or heard anything, she said.
Thursday night's incident was the second police-related fatal shooting in DeKalb this month. The first, on June 5, also occurred on North Hairston Road.
In that incident, an officer responding to a call for "trouble unknown" was met by a man waving his arms outside a home.
Another man then fired shots at the officer, and the officer returned fire, killing him.
That officer was slightly injured during the exchange of gunfire. The man who had been waving his arms also was wounded.
Thursday night, dozens of officers rushed to DeKalb Medical Center upon hearing of the latest shooting. They stood glumly, awaiting word on Stepnowski's condition.
A short time later, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones and interim police Chief Nick Marinelli broke the news of the officer's death to the group.
Some officers hugged one another for consolation. Some others simply paced back and forth with their heads bowed.
Stepnowski had joined the department in 1994 and was a sort of mentor for many of the rookie officers, his colleagues said.
Two years ago, while scrolling through an Internet site memorializing fallen officers, Stepnowski came across the name of a patrolman who died in the line of fire in Schenectady, N.Y, where he spent his childhood.
"I am thankful you [chose] to protect the people we grew up with," Stepnowski posted on the site. "I am just sorry that you had to pay the ultimate price. I hope your death does not go forgotten."
Today, like any other day, hundreds of officers will visit the Officer Down Memorial Page. There, they will likely write similar messages of condolences, this time for Stepnowski.
— Staff writers Tom Opdyke and David Milliron contributed to this report.
the family
