Des Moines Police say the suspect in the early morning slaying of two central Iowa policemen was walking on a rural road and flagged down a passing state employee to turn himself in. The suspect is Scott Michael Greene, a 46-year-old from the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale. Urbandale is where the first shooting happened at about 1 a.m. A Des Moines policeman was shot a few minutes later as he was responding to the report of shots fired.

A spokesman for Des Moines police says Greene approached a Department of Natural Resources officer on a gravel road near Interstate 80, about halfway between Stuart and Earlham, showed the officer his I-D and asked the officer to call 9-1-1. Dallas County deputies and Iowa State Patrol officers raced to the scene. Greene peacefully surrendered at about 9 a.m.

Greene complained of a “flare up” of a previous medical condition, according to Des Moines police, and he was taken to a Des Moines hospital “as a precaution.” “He’ll be interviewed once he’s well enough to make a statement,” according to a spokesman for Des Moines Police.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale have had several encounters with the man in custody for killing two policemen early this (Wednesday) morning, but Urbandale Police Chief Ross McCarty says there was no indication that Scott Michael Greene might resort to such violence. The 46-year-old Greene is accused of first gunning down Urbandale Officer Justin Martin, who was shot in his patrol vehicle around 1 a.m.

“Our officer took fire from the side of his vehicle,” McCarty said. “We can’t tell you how many rounds he took through his vehicle, but I’m pretty sure it’s over 15 and under 30.” Moments later, about two miles away, Greene allegedly shot and killed Des Moines Police Sergeant Anthony Beminio, who was also in a patrol car.

Investigators have said there was likely nothing the officers could have done to prevent the attacks. Greene was taken into custody at around 9 a.m. in rural Dallas County, where he flagged down a state DNR worker and asked him to call 911. McCarty said Greene appeared in court Tuesday afternoon, but it’s not clear if THAT played a role in shootings.

“I’m not sure…his mother and him had a disagreement over something and I don’t know if it was a civil case or if it was criminal,” McCarty said. Prior to Greene’s arrest, Urbandale Schools canceled classes for the day on McCarty’s suggestion. McCarty said Greene made “indirect” threats to the school district.

“There’s been some issues with the Urbandale School system lately and we’ve issued trespass warrants to Mr. Greene,” McCarty said. “The school system was in the process of working out what those would be, being he also has a daughter who’s a student in the school. So, they were setting the perimeters and working through that.”

In mid-October, Greene posted a video to YouTube which documents his removal from an Urbandale High School football game. McCarty said, as of this (Wednesday) morning, he had not seen the video but he was familiar with the incident. “I understand he had a Confederate flag and he was waving it during the national anthem. He had picked some people of color to wave it in front of,” McCarty said. “Although they didn’t complain to us, there was people in the crowd who felt it was offensive and he should be removed from the stadium.” Greene began recording the video outside the stadium after police officers escorted him out.

“He said he was invoking his First Amendment rights and that we were trampling on them,” McCarty said. “Officers told him that he was on private property and the people in charge of that property did not want him there. He left the school grounds, but used the public sidewalks to continue his demonstration.”

Police have said they believe Greene is the sole suspect in the murders of the two officers.

(Radio Iowa)

An Iowa college says two Des Moines-area police officers who were ambushed and killed were both graduates of its criminal justice program. Simpson College President Jay Simmons says the deaths of Des Moines Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Urbandale officer Justin Martin are tragic and the loss is “almost too much to bear.”

Police say a white man with a history of racial provocations and confrontations with police killed the two officers in separate incidents early Wednesday. Beminio graduated from Simpson College in Indianola in 2001 and played football.

Martin graduated last year. Professor Fred Jones remembers him as a “kind, gentle, compassionate man” who went into police work because he wanted to serve the public. Martin had interned at the Urbandale Police Department during his senior year.

Simpson’s wrestling team will wear blue socks to honor the officers at its meet Thursday.

(Will be updated)

Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek has identified the two Police Officers killed in the shootings early this (Wednesday) morning. The Officers were Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Beminio with the Des Moines Police Department, and Officer Justin Martin of the Urbandale Police Department.

Officer Martin

Sgt. Beminio

Sgt. Beminio had served on the Des Moines Police force since 2005, while Officer Martin was with the Urbandale P-D since 2015. Martin was single, while Beminio was married with children.

The suspect, 46-year old Scott Michael Greene, of Urbandale, was arrested after he  surrendered to a state Department of Natural Resources officer. Sgt. Parizek says Scott Michael Greene flagged down the officer in rural Dallas County, west of Des Moines, and presented his identification. He was taken into custody and is now being treated at a Des Moines hospital.

Parizek says Greene is suspected in the killings but hasn’t yet been charged.