Top Stories Seattle

Moments before accused cop killer Christopher Monfort was shot by police, he aimed his gun at the head of one of the officers.

That officer, Seattle Police Sergeant Gary Nelson, a 25-year veteran of the force, is alive today because Monfort’s gun didn’t fire properly.

Monfort is now charged with the attempted murder of Sgt. Nelson.

In a KING 5 Exclusive, Nelson spoke with KING 5 about that day.

“It’s not something you expect. The gun was 6 to 8 feet from my forehead. I have no idea why that gun didn’t work,” said Nelson.

Sgt. Nelson was one of three Seattle Police Department officers who approached Monfort outside his Tukwila apartment on Friday, November 6. They asked to talk to him and Monfort bolted.

At a news conference Thursday, King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg told about the bone-chilling moments leading up to the shooting of Monfort.

“As one of the officers, Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson ran after him, Monfort aimed his gun directly at Sgt. Nelson and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire. It was fully loaded, but Monfort had apparently failed to chamber around and this oversight saved the life of this police officer,” said Satterberg.

Nelson said when we saw the gun, he didn’t panic or become fearful, but rather became infuriated.

“I was just angry,” Nelson said.

This isn’t the first time Sgt. Nelson’s cheated death.

In March 1999, while working on an FBI task force, a bank robber opened fire on Nelson during a high-speed chase.

Nelson came away unhurt.

One year later Nelson was rescued, near death, after a drunk driver crashed into him on Highway 18 on his way home from work. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with massive injuries.

“He has internal bleeding, a gash in his head, a crushed finger, a broken femur and a collapsed lung,” said Kristen Foley of Harborview Medical Center in August 2000.

Again, Nelson survived.

The next year after the infamous Mardi Gras riots, Nelson headed up the task force that caught most of the criminals. Back then in an interview with KING 5,he urged the public to call in with tips.

“We’ve seen it on the videotape and we need to know who you are and how to get a hold of you,” said Nelson in 2001.

It was another tip from the public that lead police to Monfort.

Nelson said he was simply doing his job last Friday, alongside another sergeant and a Seattle homicide detective. He said the focus shouldn’t be on him, but on their fallen comrade, Officer Timothy Brenton and the officer trainee, Britt Sweeney, who survived the execution-style shooting on Halloween night.

“I want everyone to realize that our goal is to honor Officer Brenton and take care of his family. We were fortunate to give some conclusion from that perspective. We had a responsibility to the community,” said Nelson.

Sgt. Nelson says lessons learned in the Mardi Gras investigation are how they manage tips from the public that helped lead them to the suspect in this case.

He also says that even after being through three near-death experiences, he’s anxious to get back to work.

Sgt. Nelson isn’t working now because he and the other two officers involved in Monfort’s shooting are on administrative leave, which is routine.