In the Nation

ARIZONA

New details in killing

of police officer

A police officer killed over the weekend was shot repeatedly at close range by a domestic-violence suspect after asking the man if he could pat him down for weapons, authorities said Sunday.

Flagstaff Officer Tyler J. Stewart, 24, died Saturday at Flagstaff Medical Center.

Stewart had responded to a domestic violence call about 11 a.m. Saturday, Police Sgt. Margaret Bentzen said. A woman told the officer her boyfriend, Robert W. Smith, 28, had left the area. Stewart found Smith at an apartment complex but "at no time did the conversation become confrontational," Bentzen said.

When Stewart asked to check for weapons, Smith pulled a gun from his pocket and opened fire from about two feet away, according to the statement. Smith then walked away and fatally shot himself, she said.

A candlelight vigil was set for Sunday evening outside the police department. - AP
MISSOURI

Ferguson flap

The Ferguson Police Department has suspended a spokesman after he referred to the Michael Brown memorial as "a pile of trash." A statement the city provided to the Associated Press on Sunday didn't identify the officer who made the remark to the Washington Post. The newspaper attributed the comment to Officer Tim Zoll. The memorial at the site of Brown's death was damaged after a car apparently hit it. The city says the spokesman denied making the comment, but later admitted he'd misled his bosses. - AP
FLORIDA

Abuse lawsuit

Two alleged victims of a registered sex offender have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for pain and suffering after the man won a $3 million Florida Lottery jackpot this month. Timothy Poole was accused of sexually battering a boy in 1999. He denied the allegations but pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery. The lawsuit was filed by two brothers, who were 9 and 5 when Poole was arrested. - AP