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How officer’s striking memory solves Wash. execution case

Detective remembered surveillance images from tragedy as a familiar man walked by his car

Casey McNerthney
Seattle pi

SEATTLE — The morning of May 30, Ian Stawicki killed shot four people execution style at Café Racer, a North Seattle coffee house and bar. He then fled to Eighth Avenue and Seneca Street where he carjacked a woman for her black Mercedes-Benz SUV, and while horrified onlookers watch the woman fight for her life, Stawicki shot her in the head.

Seattle police pulled the surveillance video from Café Racer and immediately distributed it to patrol officers. But they didn’t immediately know his name, his motive, or how he might be armed.

A tracking system on the SUV Stawicki stole put it in West Seattle, where Stawicki casually walked around the neighborhood. Detective Scotty Bach had seen the surveillance images and saw an odd man walking down Fauntleroy Way Southwest near Southwest Raymond Street.

Full story: Video: How SPD found Cafe Racer killer

The Seattle Police Foundation put together this video at Medal of Courage banquet: