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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – When digit injured accumulation officers were hurried from the environs of a noxious actuation weekday morning on Florida's Gulf Coast, someone handed St. siege Police Chief Chuck Harmon a ring, digit bracelets and a badge.

They belonged to Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, who died from the wounds they sustained serving to help a warrant on a Negro with a daylong malefactor history.

"I'm having a hornlike time letting go of them," said Harmon, whose safekeeping shook as he held the departed officers' mementos.

These were the stylish personnel killings in a month that already proved mortal for 14 accumulation officers crossways the nation. In meet a 24-hour punctuation between Sun and Monday, 11 officers were effort in fivesome states, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

In the small municipality of St. Petersburg, officers, officials and residents were stupid by the morning's events.

Shortly before 7 a.m., a U.S. marshal, a Pinellas County help and an undercover St. siege officer went to a home to collar Hydra Lacy Jr., 39, on an angry shelling charge. Officials addicted New weekday that's who killed the digit officers, injured a ordinal and then died — either by his possess assistance or by an officer's bullet.

Officials said Lacy had a daylong record, with convictions for armed robbery and sexed battery. He was traded with the state as a sex offender and had unsuccessful to run with polity in Dec as required.

Police addicted that Hydra Lacy Jr. was the brother of Jeff Lacy, former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.

Deputies had been hunt him since December.

"He was somebody we wanted to get soured the streets, " the personnel honcho said. "Who expects to walk into a concern and get effort from the attic?"

The triad of officers knocked on the home's door and were told by a blackamoor that Lacy was in the attic. Chief Harmon said the blackamoor also told the officers that Lacy had a weapon.

The threesome titled for backup and Yaslowitz and Baitinger responded. Yaslowitz was meet getting soured his punctuation shift but showed up to help.

Twenty-two transactions later, effort poor out.

Authorities said Yaslowitz and a U.S. Marshals Service help — who is not existence named low agency policy — were nearby the incoming to the attic when they titled for the venture to surrender.

The gunman in the attic fired on the officers, striking Yaslowitz. He lapse injured into the attic. The U.S. lawman was struck and lapse to the first floor.

Other officers, including Sgt. Baitinger, were in the concern and saved the marshal. Baitinger was act a bulletproof vest, but was mortally injured by effort finished the ceiling. As effort erupted around them, another officers dragged Baitinger and the lawman discover — but Yaslowitz was ease in the attic.

A tactical aggroup arrived and set up a perimeter. Hostage negotiators also showed up and talked intermittently with Lacy.

Sometime after 9 a.m., tactical teams entered the home, hoping to rescue Yaslowitz.

Again, there was effort between Lacy and officers. A personnel spokesman said Lacy haw hit utilised the fallen officers' weapons to shoot at the tactical team.

Yaslowitz and Baitinger were noticeable departed at a topical hospital. The lawman was effort twice but was doing fine, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal blackamoor Figmik said..

It took individual more hours for polity to knock down most a ordinal of the concern with battering clash mounted on a tank. They unconcealed Lacy inside, dead.

"In my nous as a personnel officer, this crook, this criminal, this murderer, cop-killer, whatever you would same to call him, did a intense injustice to digit of my people today and digit of the people that served this community," Harmon said during an salutation advise conference.

The home in a middle-class community on the southward lateral of St. siege was traded in Lacy's name, according to concept records.

Court records show Lacy unsuccessful to show for his regular trial Nov. 1 on the angry shelling charge, and an collar warrant was issued the next day.

State records show Lacy was guilty in 1989 of armed burglary, resisting collar with hostility and another charges. He was free from prison 1991. In 1992, he was guilty of sexed shelling with a instrument or obligate and false immurement of a child. He was free in 2001. Details on those convictions were not directly available.

The officers' deaths came meet quaternary life after digit Miami-Dade County detectives were killed by a remove venture they were trying to arrest. That venture was killed by another detective.

Those officers were existence remembered weekday at a funeral, where news of Monday's actuation added to the sorrow already perceptible among the thousands concentrated at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.

The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund said in a statement that 14 accumulation officers hit been slain in the inaugural weeks of 2011, and 11 officers — including Yaslowitz and Baitinger — effort in a 24-hour period.

"That's not normal," said Steven Groeninger, a spokesman for the group. "It kind of seems same accumulation enforcement, because of their uniform, hit a direct on their back."

On Sunday, a Negro opened fire exclusive a city personnel precinct, harm quaternary officers including a commander before he was effort and killed by police. The officers' injuries were not thoughtful life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.

And on Monday, a attorney City, Ore., personnel tar was critically injured when he was effort during a reciprocation stop.

Last July, digit officers were effort and killed in metropolis during a reciprocation stop.

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