Ex: Man Who Killed Trooper Hated Police

Trooper may have been trying to make small talk at Greyhound station
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2016 6:00 PM CDT
Ex: Man Who Killed Trooper Hated Police
James Brown III   (Police Department via AP)

More information is emerging about the shooter and Virginia state trooper killed in Thursday's violence at a Greyhound bus station in Richmond. The AP reports 37-year-old Chad Dermyer, a former Marine, was participating in a counterterrorism exercise at the bus station with a dozen or so other troopers. Part of the training was engaging with citizens, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. When he approached 34-year-old James Brown III, who was traveling from North Carolina to Chicago, Brown shot him multiple times. Officials don't know why Dermyer approached Brown but think he may have been trying to make small talk. Brown, an Illinois resident, was traveling with 140 rounds of ammo in his bags. He was shot and killed by other troopers on the scene.

Brown has multiple convictions in his past, including for violent offenses and drug charges. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in 2012 for assaulting a pregnant woman. His ex-girlfriend, who says he nearly killed her when she broke up with him, says he often talked about hating police. "He wanted to be one of those guys that just died killing police officers because they are not taking him back to jail," she tells AP. It's a sentiment echoed by Brown's aunt, who tells WTVR "he always liked the criminal side" and wanted to be "infamous." Dermyer had made headlines recently for a couple of cases. In one, he rescued a lost dog running in traffic on the interstate. In another, he stopped a woman for driving with expired plates only to find the remains of her missing son in her trunk. (More shooting stories.)

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