Murder of Constable Thomas (Brian) King

Constable Thomas Brian King

On the evening of Tuesday April 25, 1978 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Thomas Brian King was finishing up his shift in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan when he was ambushed, overpowered, tortured and shot to death by local high school students Darrell Crook and Gregory Fischer.^[1]

Warning signs

On the afternoon of the 24th Gregory Fischer and Darrell Crook were in Lloydminster dealing with an income tax form and while there they simply decided, for whatever reasons, they were going to kill a police officer. It didn’t matter to them who it would be or for that matter what police agency he was from. They told friends that they were going to "get a cop". None of their friends took them seriously and there for no police departments were warned. Fischer and Crook removed the licence plate and broke a tail light on Fischers 1964 Rambler. This was the bait.

Murder

On the evening of the incident Constable King (RCMP Warman detachment) was on duty in Warman, Saskatchewan. Constable Doug Rushlow (RCMP Saskatoon detachment) was also on duty that night. As the evening became dark the two officers decided that they would both drive their two cruisers to the RCMP station on 8th street where they would team up for the remainder of their shift. Both police cruisers were driving south along Idylwyld Drive on the outskirts of the North end of the city. Ruslow was some distance in front of King.

At Idylwyld Drive and 51st Street Ruslow radioed Constable King (who was down the road behind him) that he was about to pull over a vehicle. King was approximately ¼ mile away and indicated that he too was about to stop a vehicle. It was Fischers Rambler with a broken tail light and no plate.

As Constable King was pulling the rambler over Crook threw a half filled beer bottle out the window and into the ditch. King got out of his car and walked into the ditch to retrieve the 'exhibit'. As he was got in the ditch Fischer jumped him. During the struggle Crook managed to relieve King of his 38 revolver. During the fight to retain his weapon King managed to open the cylinder enough to allow three rounds to fall out, but three still remained. Once Crook had the weapon he fired one round in the air. They were now in control. Constable Rushlow heard the shot in the distance as he talked to the man he pulled over but though someones car backfired. He could see Kings RCMP cruiser and Fischers Rambler some distance away. He had no reason to believe anything was wrong. At the same time off duty Saskatoon Police officer Corporal Glenn Thompson was passing Kings traffic stop and had a passing glance. He too had no reason to believe anything was wrong.

Constable Brian King, Mountie, husband and father of three was living the last half hour of his life. Overpowered and disarmed, King was handcuffed behind his back and forced into the trunk of Fischers Rambler. They drove away and left the cruiser running with its lights still flashing. Constable Rushlow, upon clearing his traffic stop, turned around and drove to Kings cruiser. He didn’t see anyone around. Fischer and Crook drove to a few bars to show Constable King to their friends and tell them of their intentions as they beat and tormented him. They told them they wanted nothing to do with the situation. Fischer and Crook then drove down Spadina Crescent, through downtown and to the Queen Elizabeth Power Station. Once there Brian was removed from the car, walked down to the South Saskatchewan River and executed with two shots to the head by Fischer. His body was then mutilated and dumped in the river. Fischer and Crook returned to the city.^[2]

At this time Constable Rushlow figured something was very very wrong. The only description of the suspect’s vehicle was from off duty Corporal Glenn Thompson. As RCMP and Saskatoon Police were on alert for the Rambler, suspecting the occupants had something to do with the abandoned cruiser, Saskatoon Police constables Jim Bracken and Rick Penny gave chase to a car fitting the description. After a short chase Bracken chased Fischer down an alley on foot off Avenue G and 21st Street. He managed to tackle and detain him. As Penny and Bracken helped Fischer to his feet they noticed he was covered in blood. It wasn’t long before they were told the full story and Fischer took them to where they had dumped the body. A few hours later Crook was arrested at a roadblock at 51st Street and Idylwyld Drive. The place where it all began.^[3]

References

1. ^ "In the line of duty: Deaths of RCMP officers". CBC News. 2011-01-10. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/01/07/f-rcmp-deaths-line-of-duty.html. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
2. ^ Grant, Susan (2003). The Memory Box: One Hundred Years of Policing in Saskatoon. Saskatoon Police Service. p. 81. ISBN 9780973267709. 
3. ^ "Constable Thomas (Brian) King". Officer Down Memorial Page. Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20080424062859/http://www.odmp.org/canada/officer/21-constable-thomas-%28brian%29-king.