A 22-year-old University of Washington student garbed in vintage Nazi-era clothing who was shot and killed by Seattle Police early the morning of New Year’s Day, worked at Red Mill Burgers.
We’ve been told his name is Miles Murphy. The picture at the right is from his MySpace page and there are already a couple memorial posts on it. In his profile, he describes himself in part:
I live in a 1920s room and I only enter the 21st century when absolutely necessary. I’m a senior at the University of Washington. I’m a Scandinavian Area Studies major and German Culture and Literature major. I also speak Swedish and German pretty well, and some Finnish.
Police say they got a report of a group of men shooting in an alley shortly before 2 a.m., Jan. 1.
The suspects were reported to be armed with rifles and/or shotguns and wearing military clothing. Uniformed officers arrived on scene and were confronted by an adult male suspect who was armed with a rifle. Officers identified themselves and ordered the suspect to drop the rifle. The suspect failed to comply. The suspect pointed the rifle at the officers at which time the officers shot him. The suspect was transported to an area hospital where he later died.
Co-workers got together at the store on Phinney Ridge Thursday night to remember the young man who had a penchant for the past, but no love for Nazism. They say Murphy was shooting blanks in the air shortly before the shooting, disputed whether he pointed a gun at police and say he wasn’t given time to drop the rifle before police opened fire. There’s more info here as well.
Murphy’s family, friends and co-workers have our condolences.
22 responses so far ↓
1 HL // Jan 2, 2009 at 9:49 am
I’m normally very supportive of our North Precinct police officers and the job they do. However, this incident is one that seems possible to have dealt with the situation without the use of deadly force. Hindsight being 20/20 and all…
The flood of online comments cheering the police for ridding us of the neo-Nazi scum (based on the one-sided initial reporting in the media and blogs) was clearly misguided…. more like mob action at its finest.
I’m guessing it will ultimately be revealed that this was a case of a college student who was drunk on New Year’s Eve in the U-District (shocking, I know) who made the stupid decision to shoot rifle blanks (as his Myspace profile indicates was one of his “favorite activities”, in line with his WWII re-enactor hobby) instead of firecrackers in the alley behind his house.
The SPD blog states that the responding officers were “confronted” by the suspect, but other reports in the Times and P-I describe witnesses saying the police went and knocked on Miles’ apartment door and he answered with the rifle in his hands (drunk kids being stupid again).
Some there say that the police officers didn’t wait long enough between their commands to drop the rifle and their shots that killed Miles.
That’s a debate with valid arguments on both sides (wait longer with the wrong suspect, and a cop gets shot… vs… this was just a drunk kid who could have been taken down with non-lethal force).
I can remember numerous times dining at Red Mill over the last couple of years when Miles was working there. He was always polite and friendly, and I have no doubt that his death will be a loss for so many. It will probably also haunt the consciences of the officers involved in the shooting as they gain the perspective on the situation that they didn’t have when they got the call.
A sad tragedy for all of us.
2 Terra Morgan // Jan 2, 2009 at 10:48 am
I met Miles my freshmen year and has many classes with him. While he loved his hobbies and loved to show them in the way he dressed we was one of the most mild mannered and soft spoken men I have ever known. Having worked with him on several occasions I can honestly say he was gentle, shy, and always dedicated to portraying whatever character he was representing (either side in WWII of which he did both often) with complete accuracy and conviction. I am offended to no end that people could see students exploring their love for the past as a reason he deserved to be killed. Anyone who thinks that he got what he has coming just because he happened to have been chosen to play the German side that day should be ashamed of themselves. While he may have been slow in putting down his gun, and I do not pretend to know the details of this, I think it a travesty that a police officer was quicker to shoot just because of the costume a student was wearing. It is a great loss whenever the world looses someone with as great conviction and creative passion to explore the past in the way that Miles did. I have always supported the police but today I am heartily ashamed that we live in a society that could condone such an act.
3 hl // Jan 2, 2009 at 11:52 am
hl,
aren’t all crimes stupid? excluding self defense from this category.
4 ls // Jan 2, 2009 at 1:28 pm
It is very sad that this young man lost his life and we all feel terrible for his family and friends who now must suffer through this loss.
However, I have great sympathy for the police officers involved. They now have to live with the fact that a young man is dead.
The police officers were in a difficult situation. When someone is holding a weapon and does not drop it (and reports said it was aimed at them) it is a pretty cut and dry response.
This is a tragedy for all involved but these officers deserve our support too.
5 k // Jan 2, 2009 at 1:43 pm
This is a great tragedy and a difficult situation for all people involved. Regardless of what uniform he was wearing german or american by holding/pointing a weapon at an officer you risk your own safety and the safety of the officers on scene. we all must remember officers risk their daily and we must rely on their judgement and their training, and in this particular situation it was not his attire they reacted to it was the weapon in his hand.
this is a great tragedy and his loved ones are in my prayers but lets also keep in mind the circumstances of this situation and remember the importance of the safety of our law enforcement.
6 Chris // Jan 2, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I hope the Seattle Times gets sued for defamation of character. It’s amazing to see them reduce the amount of “Nazi” mentions from when I first saw the headline around 2am this morning when it was something like “Man in Nazi Uniform Shot by Police.” The headline now is “Man in German WWII era uniform shot by Police.” The implications are pretty damning, clearly sensationalist.
I’m in no position to judge whether or not the police were responsible with their actions, hopefully that will come with time. I am in the position to know however that the Seattle Times were absolutely irresponsible with how they covered the story.
Guess which headline has now been re-posted about 70 times across various publications?
7 js // Jan 2, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Myles will be missed by all that knew him. sometimes life is not fair.
8 Nubbe // Jan 2, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Seattle Times still listing it as “Nazi” http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008581007_webneonazi01m.html
Sad.
Such a shame. I am sorry for his family and friends.
9 Liz // Jan 2, 2009 at 10:09 pm
This is terribly sad. Isn’t there a way to disable a (possibly) potential shooter without using deadly force?
10 Bill // Jan 3, 2009 at 6:51 am
Those cops deserve the death penalty for murder.
11 pioggia // Jan 3, 2009 at 11:20 am
Liz, from what I’ve read & the few conversations I’ve had with police officers, the short answer to your question is No. It’s a matter of not having enough time for the accuracy needed…
I think this situation is tragic, I have many friends who could just as easily been the victim based on their costume & drinking habits, but the witness I read about said he heard the police tell the young man several times to drop his weapon before they opened fire. He was brandishing a weapon, I don’t see what else they were supposed to do under the circumstances…
12 Hank // Jan 3, 2009 at 12:34 pm
The Seattle idiot pigs kill another citizen. I don’t believe the pigs’ story for one second.
13 Whopper // Jan 3, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Well Hank, next time someone slaps you upside the head, steals your tricycle and leaves you bleeding and whimpering in the gutter, do us a favor will you? Call a hippie.
14 EnduroDriver // Jan 3, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Liz - He was not a possible shooter because he was shooting. There is a way to disable a shooter, the shooter follows police instructions to drop the rifle, lay down and put his hands behind his back. Simple, he’s disabled and no lethal force needed.
Bill - Death penalty for murder is fine, this wasn’t a murder. It was police officers responding to calls from ordinary folk who feared for their families lives because someone was shooting a gun outside their window and upon arriving being faced with someone coming at them with a rifle. Self-defense, look it up.
Hank - Whopper was on the right track but don’t bother a hippie, just bleed out please.
Think about it, if someone started shooting a gun outside your house right now would to tell the wife and kids everything is fine and that you were just going to go outside and see if the shooter could keep it down. Didn’t think so, you’d want the police there now and doing whatever they had to do to stop him. This is a very tragic situation but it all comes down to a series of poor decisions on Mr. Murphy’s part that led to his death.
15 Whopper // Jan 3, 2009 at 5:41 pm
“if someone started shooting a gun outside your house right now would to tell the wife and kids everything is fine”
No, they’d hang their “Another Neighbor for Peace and Justice” sign up and ‘om’ the gun fire away.
16 js // Jan 3, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Some people on this blog never seem to amaze me. This thread is about a young man who made some bad choices and paid for it with his life/ He was a member of our community. Whoppers and endurodrivers comments have no place here. Let him rest in peace.
17 js // Jan 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm
hank and Bill too.
18 EnduroDriver // Jan 3, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Hey js, looking over my comment I guess I fail to see where I said anything insulting or derogatory about Mr Murphy, I said it was tragic (I assume you agree) and he made some bad choices (which is what you just said). So which of those two comments about him have no place here???
I do have a problem with people blaming his death on the police.
19 js // Jan 3, 2009 at 8:23 pm
endorudriver , I know you did not disparage Miles, but the back and forth banter is not warranted here. He was a friend of mine.
20 porkbutt // Jan 4, 2009 at 5:28 pm
he gave his life for the Fatherland
21 js // Jan 4, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Hey porkbutt, think maybe his parents might not appreciate your childish attempt at humor. get a life.
22 n // Jan 5, 2009 at 11:11 am
He pretty much committed suicide by pointing a weapon at officers and not putting it down or following any of their commands.
I feel bad for the officers that now have to live with the fact that they killed someone by just doing there job. What was this kid doing with this gun anyways? The same gun was taken away from him in 2006 by SPD.
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