Crystal Brame claimed that her husband pointed his gun at her and tried to choke her, saying he could snap her neck if he wanted to, court papers 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. The Brame scandal ended two lives and orphaned two children. Retrospective: 10 years later - Looking back at former Tacoma Police Chief David Brame, Puyallup man injured in Saturday night wreck on Meridian near Pierce County Airport, Gruesome freak accident in P.E. A witness, Gary Pullin, 41, of Gig Harbor, was waiting in his car for his wife, Mary, to get off work at a business in the shopping center. Thats fine, he recalled Corpuz saying. The Associated Press GIG HARBOR Tacoma Police Chief David Brame apparently shot his estranged wife then killed himself today, a day after her allegations of abuse were publicized in media. The scene that followed was chaos. He was also Mr. Brame's faculty adviser while a professor at the nearby University of Puget Sound. Corpuz declined to act, saying he wouldnt respond to anonymous complaints. In April 2003, Tacoma Police Chief David Brame shot his 35-year-old estranged wife and himself in a strip-mall parking lot in Gig Harbor. Seattle Times staff reporters Pamela Sitt, Ian Ith, J.J. Jensen, Sarah Anne Wright, Christine Clarridge and Marsha King contributed to this report. His wife, Crystal, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. He then stopped his car. The paper has since taken heat from the Tacoma police union, the city manager and a city council member, each of whom say that the charges made in the suit should not have been published. 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. Hospital officials would not comment on her condition. There havent been any discussions (about an investigation) or complaints from within the department.. The children were in the care of their mothers parents Saturday night, Troyer said. Another woman in the parking lot scooped up the children _ an 8-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy _ and took them into a video store in the strip mall. He sank while everyone around him watched. Everyone else did. In the divorce papers, David Brame claimed he had been victimized in the relationship. Pullin told his wife to get in the car. That night, Brame returned from Las Vegas. ''More than anything, their welfare is on my mind.''. "The probability is strong that the chief shot his wife and then himself," Troyer said. I'm very disappointed in what he's done," he said. Meanwhile, his marriage collapsed. Police Say Tacoma Chief Shoots Wife, Self - ourmidland.com Crystal Brame accused her husband of pointing his gun at her, trying to choke her and saying he "could snap my neck if he wanted to.". Crystal Brame accused her husband of pointing his gun at her, trying to choke her and saying he ``could snap my neck if he wanted to.. Wash. Police Chief Shoots Wife, Self - mrt.com Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. ABCNEWS' Neal Karlinsky reported this story on Good Morning America. The chief and his wife arrived in the parking lot separate cars, with the couples children in Crystal Brames vehicle. When the 60-year-old retires Thursday after 17 years at the helm of the department, it'll be as the. But Gig Harbor Police Chief Mitchell Barker said Friday that Brames account is different from what his officers recall and records indicate. "Steps were taken to ensure Crystal's safety, and the kids, and she changed the locks on the house, per my suggestion, and she did other things," Lombino said. On Friday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that documents in the couples divorce case recounted a stormy, sometimes violent relationship. At one point, his wife is said to have tried to crawl out of the car. "They had no idea. It led state Attorney General Chris Gregoire to describe the department under Brame as culturally corrupt.. 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. This story was originally published April 25, 2023, 1:57 PM. As it turned out, I was probably the only TNT reporter who didnt work that day. The story haunts me. We learned the bloody trail left by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo stretched all the way back to Tacoma and the murder of 21-year-old Keenya Cook. Brame said he reported the fights to his boss at the time, interim Chief Ken Monner; to another Tacoma officer who photographed his bruises, and to police in Gig Harbor, where he was living at the time. Crystal Brame sought a restraining order March 26, after Brame threatened her again, according to court papers. On the way home, Brame returned to his favorite subject: his divorce. Before the shootings, Brame had sought professional counseling to help deal with the stress of his impending divorce, a city official said Sunday. What do you do when the boss falls apart? Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. 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. For example, Crystal Brame alleged that she was "very afraid" of her husband because he was controlling and threatening pointing a gun at her, keeping the couple's checkbook from her, insisting on going with her to routine doctor exams and checking her car odometer to make sure she had not strayed from permitted errands. The wife of Tacoma Police Chief David Brame was in critical condition with a gunshot wound. But Brame said he had been victimized in the relationship. Police and other first responders can use bicycles in a variety of ways. The couple had been going through a divorce. Brame brought Crystal to a marriage counseling session with the police chaplain. Life was about Crystal Brame, Blackwell said. 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 sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. The couple's two young children were in the parking lot at the time of shooting, but it wasn't immediately known if they witnessed the violence. ``This is somebody everybody knew and respected., ``He was exactly what you want, Troyer added, ``rose up through the ranks, worked very hard and made chief.. 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. Benson was pronouced dead Thursday. After the shootings, my TNT colleagues wrote scores of stories, exposing a police department that seemed to wink at domestic violence by employees, and city leaders who found reasons not to intervene before disaster struck. A female & 3 children inside the house were uninjured. The day before the shootings, allegations that he had abused his wife were made public. They couldnt go over his head there was no other head but Corpuz, who hired Brame. Tacoma Police Chief Shoots Wife Before Killing Himself, Authorities Say 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. Woodard told Corpuz of the alleged death threats and twice asked the city manager to do something about the troubled chief, according to records. I was there. Acting Tacoma police chief replaced. 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. Avery Moore officially assumes role of Tacoma police chief One of the kids ran into a nearby video store, Troyer said. "They had no idea. Friends say he followed her, even tried to hack into her cell phone to delete messages. She is the first woman to head the police force in Tacoma, a city of 194,000. For six years, Brame was chief contract negotiator for the police union, representing patrol officers. The couple's 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son were nearby when their father shot their mother, and then turned the gun on himself. Department duties fell by the wayside. In 2002, the Beltway Sniper murders on the East Coast transfixed the nation. Passive-aggressive charm was his specialty. The boss was the one going crazy, but the boss also happened to be ruthless, and subordinates knew it. 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It's unsurprising then that during ILEETA 2023, the topic was discussed at length. Witnesses told police they heard two quick shots, Troyer said. IPMBA shares a few examples of why they work so well in certain situations. He also had served as commander of the criminal investigations division and headed up the department's internal-affairs division. Once a uniformed officer, he took pleasure policing the streets where he grew up, Mr. Baarsma said. The wife of Tacoma Police Chief David Brame was in critical condition with a gunshot wound. Barker said Brame was "vague" about his marital problems and did not report any physical assault. And he made Crystal out to be crazy.. 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. On April 26, 2003, Brame fatally shot his wife, Crystal, then himself. It was one of many stories revealing, in hindsight, the dubious rise of a disastrous leader. Tacoma, Wash., Police Chief David Brame, 44, shot his wife in the head in a mall parking lot before fatally shooting himself. The shootings 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. A group of officers learned of the incident and anonymously sent a note to Corpuz, seeking an investigation and underlining a perceived double standard: one set of rules for the boss, another for everyone else. ``The probability is strong that the chief shot his wife and then himself, Pierce County Sheriffs spokesman Ed Troyer said. At Tacoma Police Department headquarters on South Pine Street, where Chief Avery Moore has held the top job since 2022, portraits line the wall of the chiefs conference room. I didnt work Saturday because I was the regular Sunday reporter at the time, and editors needed to save one fresh staffer after the first-day flurry of breaking news. That was 20 years . It never took place, but Brame tried to engineer it, gaslighting and lying to both women. Crystal Brame is 5 feet tall and weighs about 105 pounds. 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. Less than a week after Tacoma's police chief shot his wife and himself, City Manager Ray Corpuz announced late yesterday that he had placed Acting Police Chief . Then came Brame. David Brame, 44, died at a hospital a short time. He was among officials who announced that a witness came forward with evidence that could tie two shootings in Tacoma to sniper suspects John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. We were just shocked.. Their children, ages 8 and 5, were sitting in a nearby car. Catherine Woodard, assistant chief for criminal investigations, was named acting chief. He and his wife, 35-year-old Crystal Brame, had been going through a divorce. A witness said she saw people in the parking lot running around and screaming after the shootings. The couples 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son were sitting a few feet away in their fathers car. The interwoven problems of staffing shortages and lowering hiring standards have a profound impact on law enforcement training and trainers. Benson's agent, Jerry Hogan, says everyone who knew the young actress is struggling to understand how this happened. Slain Tacoma police officer sacrificed himself to save partner, shooter Tacoma police chief dies after shooting wife, self Reportedly, Brame spoke to the city manager frequently about his divorce. 1/2 That's when she met David Brame, a rising star in the department who had been divorced from his first wife since 1987. April 24, 2003, was Crystals birthday. To multiple subordinates, he confessed a seamy scheme to lure his wife into a sexual threesome with a female officer. We wanted to make sure we had it right before we published. Brame was pronounced dead at 5:52 p.m. at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Pierce County Sheriffs spokesman Ed Troyer said. Again, Corpuz did not act. He in turn said that his wife had a "ferocious temper," and was emotionally unstable. I know we tried to do our jobs the right way. GIG HARBOR Tacoma Police Chief David Brame apparently shot his estranged wife then killed himself today, a day after her allegations of abuse were publicized in media reports. It did not appear anyone else was involved in the shooting. The shootings occurred a day after abuse accusations in the couple's divorce case appeared in local newspapers. Pullin said he then saw a woman quickly herd the children away from the scene. A woman who witnessed Wednesday's shooting of Tacoma police Officer Reginald "Jake" Gutierrez said he sacrificed himself to save his partner and the wife of the man who opened fire. He looked good blonde, blue-eyed, smart, young and fit. We learned that Brame had season tickets to The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, which always intrigued me why was Tacomas top cop so into musicals? Tacoma police chief shoots wife, kills himself With his young children nearby, Tacoma Police Chief David Brame shot his wife on Saturday, and then shot himself. Then David Brame shot his wife and then shot and killed himself. 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. I had little to go on. April 26, 2003, the day of the shootings, was a Saturday. GIG HARBOR - Tacoma's police chief shot his wife and then himself in the parking lot of a strip mall Saturday afternoon while the couple's two young children were nearby. He brought three subordinates to one of his divorce hearings. Brame kept his job, and eventually rose in department ranks. "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. Another Tacoma homicide: Man found dead after Saturday evening shooting It was just all day, every day. David Brame died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma about 6 p.m. His wife Crystal was in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. 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 couples divorce case were publicized in media reports. Bystanders hurried the Brame children into a video store in the mall to wait for police. The two had been going through a divorce. As the news spread across the city, police spokesman Jim Mattheis drove Corpuz to the crime scene: a drugstore parking lot in Gig Harbor, where the chief fired the fatal shots.