Did Salina shooter who killed 2 officers harbor decade-old grudge against law enforcement?

Syracuse, NY — Police are investigating whether the Salina shooter who killed two police officers Sunday harbored a decade-old grudge against law enforcement.

Christopher R. Murphy, 33, had been arrested once, for drunken driving and resisting arrest in 2014. He later pleaded guilty to a non-criminal violation, a routine outcome for a first-time DWI charge.

People who know Murphy told police that he had expressed ill-will toward law enforcement long after his arrest, Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile said.

Murphy shot and killed sheriff’s Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse police Officer Michael Jensen Sunday night outside the 4945 Darien Drive residence in Salina where Murphy lived with his parents. He had been using cocaine with a friend before opening fire on the officers, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said.

But Cecile said at a news conference Monday afternoon that there was something else about Murphy’s past that might help shed light on what happened.

Cecile told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he was referring to reports that Murphy had told people of his dislike of police. Those reports were all verbal and communicated to police by word-of-mouth, the police chief said.

The investigation has not turned up any social media accounts or any other platforms expressing ill will toward police, the police chief said.

Ceclie described accounts of Murphy’s negativity toward police as “grinding” about what had happened in 2014. They were general in nature, he said. None of the accounts indicated that Murphy had threatened to kill police or other specific threats of violence.

Those accounts came to the chief’s attention while still at the hospital the night of the shooting, he said.

Police are still trying to verify the word-of-mouth accounts, which Cecile said are still considered unconfirmed.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.