Brame's wife dies; Tacoma in turmoil | The Seattle Times GIG HARBOR Tacoma Police Chief David Brame apparently shot his estranged wife and then himself this afternoon, a day after her allegations of abuse were publicized in media reports. He accused his wife of having a ``ferocious temper and being emotionally unstable. Those were wild days in Tacoma. He accused his wife of having a "ferocious temper" and being emotionally unstable. He and his wife, 35-year-old Crystal Brame, had been going through a divorce. Crystal Brame has been upgraded to serious condition, but still remains comatose and on life support. Friends say he followed her, even tried to hack into her cell phone to delete messages. I interviewed a Tacoma police officer who said Brame tried to lure her into a threesome with Crystal. The shooting took place around 3:10 p.m. in the parking lot of a shopping center in this town northwest of Tacoma, Troyer said. "The probability is strong that the chief shot his wife and then himself," Troyer said. Over and over, in thousands of pages of investigative records and court testimony, the theme resurfaced. Seattle Times staff reporters TACOMA On the day Police Chief David Brame was buried, and his estranged wife was declared dead, city officials were mired in a controversy over whether they. Tacoma Police Chief Shoots Wife Before Killing Himself, Authorities Say April 28, 2003 The wife of the Tacoma police chief was in critical condition today, a day after her husband shot. The story said an internal affairs investigation at the time was inconclusive. ", "He was exactly what you want," Troyer added, "rose up through the ranks, worked very hard and made chief.". And he made Crystal out to be crazy.. TNT archives: Looking back at Tacoma's David Brame scandal | Tacoma Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? But Brame said he had been victimized in the relationship. ``The probability is strong that the chief shot his wife and then himself, Pierce County Sheriffs spokesman Ed Troyer said. For me, it started the day after Brame fatally shot his wife, Crystal Judson, then himself, in a Gig Harbor parking lot as the couple's two young children watched in horror. Officers responded to reports of people shot at a home in the 900 blk of E 52 St. A 38 yr old male resident was found deceased in the backyard. On Friday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that documents in the couples divorce case recounted a stormy, sometimes violent relationship. "He was exactly what you want rose up through the ranks, worked very hard and made chief," he said. I cant stop myself from thinking about their piping voices, explaining what they saw in that parking lot. It led state Attorney General Chris Gregoire to describe the department under Brame as culturally corrupt.. This babying of Brame needs to stop, Sheehan said, adding that if Corpuz wouldnt do something, he would. Seattle Times staff reporters Pamela Sitt, Ian Ith, J.J. Jensen, Sarah Anne Wright, Christine Clarridge and Marsha King contributed to this report. Florisi also talks about the human factors involved in critical incidents. Ruth Teichroeb, an investigative reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, broke the story about the abuse charges against the police chief. The Gig Harbor Police Department is investigating the shooting, with the help of the Pierce County sheriff's office. In New York City, 21-year-old model and budding actress Lyric Benson told friends she was scared of her ex, 33-year-old Robert Ambrosino. The Gig Harbor Police Department is working with the Pierce County Sheriffs Office on the case. As the couple drove off, Pullin realized he had been parked only four stalls from where the shots were fired. POLICE Senior Editor Wayne Parham and Nicole Florisi, a law enforcement subject matter expert at VirTra, discuss simulator training and content while at ILEETA. That night, Brame called her from Las Vegas, where he was attending a labor-management seminar. Brame rose through the ranks to become police chief in Tacoma, a city of 194,000, in January 2002. What reforms were, werent or partially fulfilled. International Police Mountain Bike Association President David Millican shares his advice and provides 10 tips for any agency wanting to start a bike patrol. Tacoma Police Chief Shoots Wife, Self - mrt.com It touched off multiple investigations and shed light on officer-involved domestic violence. Between 2003 and 2005, I wrote or co-wrote more than 100 stories about a scandal that ended careers and drowned the city and the police department in waves of recrimination. On Friday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that documents in the couple's divorce case recounted a stormy, sometimes violent relationship. But Crystal Brame's longtime friends aren't buying any of the police chief's allegations, especially now that he shot her. His wife, Crystal, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. As chief, he promoted favorites, exiled enemies and brooked no dissent. On Friday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that documents in the couples divorce case recounted a stormy, sometimes violent relationship. His appointment ceremony Jan. 17, 2002 was a pageant, unlike others before and after: the hometown boy, crowned next to his beautiful wife, Crystal, and their two children. Asterisks surrounded his 1981 hiring; Brame took three psychological evaluations before he was deemed eligible. Everyone knew it. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Tacoma police is working with a staff of 50 fewer personnel than it's budgeted for, which has led to longer response times. He also saw a bystander pick up the handgun and then make a call on his cellphone. ABCNEWS' Neal Karlinsky reported this story on Good Morning America. Department duties fell by the wayside. According to what the couples children have said, their parents met in the mall parking lot in Gig Harbor, where their mother was living, by chance. Tacoma Police Chief David Brame was killed and his wife was critically injured in an apparent murder-suicide attempt Saturday, a day after abuse allegations in the couple's divorce case were publicized in media reports. David Brame, 44, died at a hospital a short time. ''More than anything, their welfare is on my mind.''. His wife was with him when he was promoted just over a year ago, but in divorce filings made public just last week, she described a man who was violent and controlling. ``I heard one of the children say, Daddy shot Mommy, words to that effect, said Dana Mossman. Tacoma Police Chief David Brame died yesterday after he shot his 35-year-old estranged wife and himself in a strip-mall parking lot in Gig Harbor, Pierce County. At the time of the shootings, the Brames were three months into a bitter divorce, with each making claims and counterclaims against the other. "They had no idea. He said he reported the fights to "protect himself.". Troyer said Brame was highly respected. Tacoma police chief shoots wife, kills self | The Seattle Times I had a vague tip. "It was a situation where obviously it was hoped to bring an acceptable resolution.". Police Say Tacoma Chief Shoots Wife, Self TIM KLASS April 26, 2003 GIG HARBOR, Wash. (AP) _ Tacoma Police Chief David Brame was killed and his wife was injured in an apparent murder-suicide attempt Saturday, a day after abuse allegations in the couple's divorce case were publicized in media reports. Pullin told his wife to get in the car. Always, he claimed to be an abused man, painting Crystal as an unstable spouse bent on destroying his career. Though there was a standard restraining order that protected the couple's assets during the divorce, she had said in divorce documents that she had chosen not to obtain a no-contact order, against the advice of her lawyer. The Brames' children ran toward their mother's car after hearing the shots, Troyer said. The 43-year-old woman said she was standing in front of a coffee shop when she heard a "pop, pop" sound and then saw a woman lying in a pool of blood. My colleague Martha Modeen and I interviewed numerous cops who had been isolated or banished by the chief, who was known for rewarding friends and punishing enemies. We interviewed the late Lane Judson, Crystals father, who turned his daughters death into a crusade against domestic violence. I dont know. The shooting took place around 3:10 p.m. in the parking lot of a shopping center in this town northwest of Tacoma, Pierce County sheriffs spokesman Ed Troyer said. Above all, he was local: a second-generation police commander, a sports star straight out of Lincoln High School. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. They were just running for safety, said Kirsten Oakland, 36, and a hair stylist at Harbor Cutter, a shop that looks out onto the parking lot. He then stopped his car. The portrait was a. "What makes this situation particularly difficult to understand is that Chief Brame recognized and was concerned about how emotional stress can affect police officers," Corpuz said. Brame and his wife were in the parking lot to exchange the children from one parent to the other. I never met Brame. Tacoma's city manager, Ray Corpuz, issued a statement today expressing shock at the shootings, which were witnessed by the couple's children, Haley, 8, and David Jr., 5. Paramedics found Crystal Brame lying on the pavement beside her car, with the drivers side door ajar. ''Right now I'd ask that everyone pray for Crystal Brame and for the future of Haley and David Jr.,'' Mr. Corpuz said. That was 20 years ago. Days before the shooting, as word of Brames divorce and allegations of domestic abuse became public, Corpuz said the chiefs divorce was a civil matter, and declined to take action. I had little to go on. At one point, the chief put the children in his car, then went back to his wifes car, where the pair engaged in a heated conversation, authorities believe. April 28, 2003 -- Witnesses who saw Tacoma Police Chief David Brame shoot his estranged wife in a parking lot just south of Seattle all remember the same thing: the couple's children. The wife of the Tacoma police chief was in critical condition today, a day after her husband shot her in the head in a mall parking lot and then fatally shot himself, the authorities said.