Officer Down: Sergeant William Biggs - Kirkwood Missouri

BS Ranch Perspective It is always hard to discuss the death of a Police Officer Whether it is a Sergeant or a brand new Officer, it doesn't matter it is always hard to write a thought about this when you have so many things that you must consider, the biggest thing that I am considering right now is that I am praying so hard for the Family that is totally Grieving the loss of their Family member, I know that I would not be able to even talk to anyone, Maybe I could talk to somebody on the Department that I knew, whom knew him well! Other then that it would be difficult to talk to anybody about my Family Relations. Now from the report of this story he moved to defend the City Council Members and then the Suspect just started shooting and the Sergeant made such a large target that he was struck several times before he could get enough rounds off to kill the suspect in time to get the shots to stop being fired. I still just pray for the Family of Sergeant William Biggs, For he Obviously was one to go above and beyond the call of his duties when the Lead Flew, he was right in the middle of the heat in an attempt to protect the people that he swore to protect!! The Metal of Valor definitely should be awarded to Sergeant William Biggs of Kirkwood Missouri. BS Ranch

02/08/2008 Officer Down: Sergeant William Biggs Officer Down: Sergeant William Biggs - [Kirkwood, Missouri]

Biographical Info Age: N/A Cause of Death: Gunfire Incident Details: Sergeant William Biggs and Officer Tom Ballman were shot and killed when a suspect opened fire at a Kirkwood city council meeting. The man had held a grudge against the city council for several years and had filed several lawsuits against the city. The suspect approached Sergeant Biggs across the street from the city hall and asked him what time the meeting started, then pulled out a handgun and shot fatally shot him in the head. The man then took Sergeant Biggs' service weapon and walked across the street into the city hall. When he entered the council chambers he approached Officer Ballman, who was sitting in the front of the room, and also fatally shot him in the head. The man then opened fire on the other occupants of the room, killing two council members and the director of public works before being shot and killed by two other officers. End of Watch: Thursday, February 7, 2008 Gunman kills 2 officers, 3 others at Mo. city council meeting KIRKWOOD, Mo. - A gunman stormed a city council meeting Thursday night, killing two police officers and three other people before law enforcers fatally shot him, authorities said. The man's gunfire injured the mayor, a newspaper reported. The victims at the meeting in suburban St. Louis were killed after the gunman rushed the council chambers and began firing as he yelled "Shoot the mayor," according to St. Louis County Police spokeswoman Tracy Panus. Janet McNichols, a reporter covering the meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, told the newspaper that the 7 p.m. meeting with about 30 people had just started when the shooter rushed in and opened fire with at least one weapon. He started yelling about shooting the mayor while walking around and firing, hitting police Officer Tom Ballman in the head, she said. Mayor Mike Swoboda was wounded, McNichols said. Public Works Director Kenneth Yost was shot in the head, and council members Michael H.T. Lynch and Connie Karr also were hit, she said. The gunman also fired at City Attorney John Hessel, who tried to fight off the attacker by throwing chairs, McNichols told the newspaper. The shooter then moved behind the desk where the council sits and fired more shots at council members, she said. McNichols identified the gunman as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, a man she knows from covering the council. Thornton had previously disrupted meetings, she told the Post-Dispatch. Dozens of emergency vehicles were on the scene, and an area of several blocks was cordoned off along a busy north-south corridor around City Hall. Kirkwood is about 20 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. City Hall is in a quiet area filled with condominiums, eateries and shops, not far from a dance studio and train station. Mary Linehares, a teacher who lives about four blocks from City Hall and who walked down to the scene with her husband, described the town as quiet and eclectic. "It's like a small town in St. Louis," Linehares told The Associated Press. "You can call it Mayberry."

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