# [ODMP] DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia ~ June 29, 2006



## Guest (Jun 30, 2006)

A Detective with the DeKalb County Police Department was killed in the line of duty on June 29, 2006

*http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=18354*


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers . . .






















Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski 
*DeKalb County Police Department
Georgia*
End of Watch: Thursday, June 29, 2006

Biographical Info
*Age:* 33
*Tour of Duty:* 10 years
*Badge Number:* Not available

Incident Details
*Cause of Death:* Gunfire
*Date of Incident:* Thursday, June 29, 2006
*Weapon Used*: Gun; Unknown type
*Suspect Info:* Killed

Detective Dennis Stepnowski was shot during a foot chase of a suspect at a Stone Mountain apartment complex about 7 pm. There were approximately ten shots fired and the suspect was killed during the gunfight. Detective Stepnowski was was taken to DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur where he died from his wounds.

Detective Stepnowski had served with the Dekalb County Police Department for ten years and was also a member of the SWAT unit. He is survived by his wife.

Agency Contact Information
DeKalb County Police Department
3630 Camp Cir
Decatur, GA 30032

Phone: () -

* _Please contact the agency for funeral information_

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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Bullet holes pock the siding of one of the buildings surrounding the scene where a police officer was killed when a foot chase at an apartment turned into a shootout that also left the suspect dead in Stone Mountain, Ga., Friday. DeKalb County Police Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski, 33, died Thursday night at a hospital, where he was taken after the shooting.

*Ga. officer, suspect killed in shootout*
The Associated Press

Stone Mountain, GA- A playground that usually is filled with children is quiet Friday after a DeKalb County, Georgia, police officer and a suspect died in a shootout at an apartment complex in Stone Mountain.

Police say 33-year-old Detective Dennis Stepnowski died Thursday night at a hospital where he was taken after the shooting. The officer was a member of the police SWAT unit and had been with the department for ten years. He was married.
Police have not released the name of the suspect who died.

A neighbor says the man went by the nickname "No" because his family had moved to the area from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Police have not confirmed where the man lived earlier.

Police spokesman Sergeant Charles Dedrick says the incident began when Stepnowski and another officer - who were on routine patrol - saw the suspect, determined he looked suspicious and chased him.

Dedrick says shots were fired at some point during the chase.

The man was killed when police returned fire.

The incident unfolded in a grassy area bordered by a playground between four apartment buildings. In the center, beside a cluster of oak trees and a park bench, is the spot where another neighbor, Vaughn Smith, says the suspect was killed.

Hundreds of evacuees were relocated to four large apartment complexes in the area.

20-year-old Roderick Bennett says crime has increased since the evacuees moved into the complex.








_Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed._


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Officers escort a hearse carrying the coffin of slain DeKalb County Detective Dennis Stepnowski as they leave the funeral home on Monday in Atlanta. Stepnowski was fatally wounded last week in a shootout with a Hurricane Katrina evacuee wanted for murder in his hometown of Lacombe, La. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)


*Slain Ga. officer praised, mourned *
Mae Gentry; Staff 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The extended family of a DeKalb County police officer killed last week in the line of duty turned out in force Monday for his funeral.

Detective Dennis Carmen Stepnowski's widow, his parents and his "brothers in blue" --- hundreds of officers from DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Atlanta and other police departments --- listened solemnly as the 33-year-old officer was hailed as dedicated, enthusiastic and hungry to do good police work.

Many of the officers still wore black bands over their badges, a symbol of their grief.

Stepnowski was killed Thursday in a gunbattle with a Louisiana man wanted for murder. The man, 25-year-old Lucas D. Palmer of Lacombe, La., also died in the gunfight.

Stepnowski, who started his career as a sheriff's deputy in Clayton County, had been with the DeKalb Police Department for 12 years, the last three as a member of the SWAT team.

In a soft voice, DeKalb's acting police chief, Nick Marinelli, addressed Stepnowski's widow, Kellie Teas, and parents, Dennis R. and Patricia Stepnowski, who were seated in front of his flag-draped casket.

"I'd like for you to look around and take a look at the size of your family," Marinelli said. "I read once some time ago a passage that describes the bond of men in uniform. '... We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' "

DeKalb Sheriff Thomas Brown, former Chief Executive Officer Liane Levetan and former DeKalb police Chief Louis Graham were among the 2,000-plus mourners at Stepnowski's funeral, held at First Baptist Church of Atlanta in Dunwoody. He was buried in the Zion Baptist Church cemetery in Covington.

At the funeral, a friend read a poem written for Stepnowski written by the brother of an officer he pulled from a burning squad car. The poem, "My Brother Wears Blue," prompted uniformed officers to sniffle loudly and wipe away tears.

Maj. Frank J. Kliegrath, who delivered the eulogy, recalled Stepnowski's sense of humor and his devotion to duty.

"When Kellie and Dennis met, he was already a police officer," Kliegrath said. "To say he was a dedicated officer is an understatement, as Kellie found out when he excused himself from their engagement party, put on his uniform and went to work."

Kliegrath said Stepnowski was a fan of the 1980s TV series "Miami Vice," and likened him to its main characters.

"Crockett and Tubbs would break all the rules, fight with their superiors and catch the bad guys," he said.

Stepnowski earned eight commendations, including the department's highest award, the Medal of Honor.

Kliegrath recounted the events that led to Stepnowski's death at an apartment complex near Stone Mountain.

"People were in danger --- his partner, innocent children," Kliegrath said. "Nobody else was hurt that day because Dennis Stepnowski was on the scene."








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