Suspect in Killing of 2 Police Officers Arrested in Iowa

Police officials launched a manhunt for Scott Greene a resident of Urbandale, Des Moines. Authorities suspect the 46-year-old man for fatally shooting 2 police officers while inside their patrol cars.

According to reports, authorities found the first police officer shot in Urbandale around 1:06 AM (06:06 GMT) on Wednesday. The second officer victim located a few blocks away from the first. Both appeared to be still inside their patrol cars when they were shot.

Des Moines police officials said the motive for shooting the officers remains unknown.

In spite of the unclear motive, police found substantial evidence leading to their suspect. Greene posted a video taken from a mobile phone. The video shows a man complaining to a police officer about a group of black people. According to Greene, the group mugged him and took the Confederate flag he was holding. The incident happened during a high school sports event.

The man in the video said, “I was peacefully protesting”. The police officer voice, audible in the background replied, “You have to understand that in the social climate that we’re in, when you fly a Confederate flag in front of a group of African-Americans, that’s going to cause a disturbance”.

However, Greene seemed to ignore the police officer’s advice. Since another video shows Greene holding the Confederate flag again in front of several African-American people.

Behind the ‘stars’ and ‘bars’

The Confederate flag serves as a symbol of slavery, particularly in the African-American community. Last year, it yielded another horrendous symbol on its back. In South Carolina, a man carrying a confederate flag killed nine black churchgoers.

Sergeant Paul Parizek of Des Moines Police Department said in a news conference, “somebody out there is shooting police officers”. He added that “We hope we find him before anybody else gets hurt. We definitely don’t want anybody in the public, here in the community to get hurt but there’s a clear and present danger to police officers right now, and we’ve doubled up our officers.”

Terry Branstad, the Governor in Iowa said that the shootings were “an attack on the public safety of all Iowans”. The governor deeply condemns the killing of the police officers.

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