An ex-girlfriend of the gunman at a Virginia bus station said Friday he frequently expressed his hatred toward police and once nearly choked her to death after she broke up with him.
James Brown III of Aurora, Illinois, was killed Thursday by two Virginia state troopers after authorities say he fatally shot Trooper Chad P. Dermyer at a Richmond Greyhound station.
Brown, 34, who had a lengthy criminal record, previously said he would rather die fighting police than return to prison, the ex-girlfriend said.
The slain trooper is survived by his wife and two children.
He was a former Marine who previously served on police forces in Jackson, Michigan.
