The St. Louis area is mourning the death of upstart policeman, Norvelle T. Brown.
An acclaimed police officer who stopped an armed robbery in May was gunned down Wednesday night not far from where his heroic act took place. Officer Norvelle T. Brown, 22, was on routine patrol when an unknown gunman shot him after stopping a man to question him on the 1600 block of Semple Avenue in North St. Louis.. At 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, Brown radioed his department to tell the dispatcher that he had been shot.Police found him in an alley just north of 1608 Semple Avenue in the Wells/Goodfellow neighborhood. Brown died at Barnes Jewish hospital at 10:53 p.m.
Police Chief Joe Mokwa told reporters that Brown was shot in the back of the left shoulder. The bullet pierced both of his lungs and exited through his right armpit. Authorities reported no arrests.
Brown, 22, joined the police department in March of 2006 as a recruit in training. He graduated from the police academy on Nov. 2, 2006 and was assigned to the Seventh District. Even though he was a new officer, Brown had already earned great respect from the force.On May 26, 2007, Brown and another officer, Michael Ehnes, were on foot patrol in the area of St. Louis Avenue and Union Boulevard, where several armed robberies had happened in the previous weeks. Citizens told them that a barber shop on Union was being robbed.
Brown and Ehnes quickly got there and found a masked gunman. The gunman had four customers lying face down on the floor and was holding the owner of the barber shop at gunpoint.The two officers drew their guns and ordered the gunman to drop his gun. The suspect dropped his gun and was taken into custody. The two officers were able to recover the owner's money and a .380 semi-automatic pistol.
On June 19, Chief Mokwa gave Brown and Ehnes a Chief's Letter of Commendation award for their work. Brown was a coach of the Police Athletic League and a 2003 graduate of Vashon High School.
Vashon Head Football Coach Reggie Ferguson said the team has been taken aback by the news that one of their own was killed Wednesday night.
Brown, known to his Vashon family as "Chito," played defensive back for the team in 2002-2003. Ferguson said the young man was fast and determined.
VIDEO of rememberances of Brown go to http://www.stltoday.com/mds/news/video/349
Falgs near the poilice station are being flown half staff. For funeral arrangements info, call the St. Louis Police Department at (314) 444-0100
Info provided by http://www.stltoday.com/
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