Two of West Seattle’s men in blue were honored in March as Officer’s of the Year for 2012 by the Seattle Police Officers' Guild for their work in ending the Ian Stawicki manhunt in May of that year.

Southwest Precinct Officer Scott Luckie and SPD Detective Scotty Bach were two of three officers honored at a recent guild event with the awards that are voted upon by peers who are members of the law enforcement labor union.

We reached out to Officer Luckie, who explained that the guild honors Officers of the Month throughout the year, and then looks at all those recipients to decide on Officer of the Year honors.

Luckie and Bach were honored for their work on May 30, 2012, in tracking down Stawicki near Fauntleroy Way S.W. and S.W. Raymond St. during a citywide manhunt after he had shot and killed four people at Café Racer before taking another life in a carjacking downtown. Stawicki fled to West Seattle after the shootings and roamed the peninsula until Bach, in an undercover vehicle, spotted their suspect and called for backup. Luckie was first to arrive in his squad car, stepping out and demanding Stawicki stop and get down. Stawicki dropped to his knees and took his own life, ending the massacre and manhunt that stretched from North to West Seattle.

“It really was a team effort,” Luckie said of that day. “It just so happened we were there first.”

Luckie said he wishes everyone involved in the manhunt could receive the award, but admitted the honor is “a little more rewarding coming from your peers.”

Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officer's Guild, called the Stawicki manhunt an "ever-evolving" situation where police were quickly evaluating footage from the Cafe Racer shooting and getting Stawicki's picture out to the force.

“Who knows, it’s a hypothetical, but I mean who knows what the guy would have continued to do. He had already killed numerous people, he thinks nothing of that, he is walking in a residential neighborhood, so if Det. Bach didn’t recognize him and wasn't alert enough to say 'Hey, that’s the guy in the picture,'" anything could have happened.

As for Luckie, O'Neill said, "He demonstrated, I thought, real bravery ... he has to make a decision to get this guy stopped ... he is walking, we don't know where he is going, he could have been going anywhere to do any kind of havoc or kill someone.

"You can play 'what ifs' forever, but had they not been in the place where they were and acted so quickly ... mayhem could have continued."

O'Neill said the work of Seattle police on that dark day was a bright spot.

“For all our critics who want to criticize us, there is top shelf police work being done. Communication, teamwork, getting information out, sharing information, being out there aggressively looking for a killer and then finally catching him.”

Both men were also given SPD Medals of Courage by the Seattle Police Foundation in October of 2012.

Bach is a West Seattle resident who works as a detective for SPD’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, operating outside of his normal duties during the Stawicki manhunt. He recently shared his expertise on home surveillance with the West Seattle Block Watch Captains' Network.

Luckie’s wife is Tara Luckie, executive director of the West Seattle Helpline (a non-profit that provides services, clothing and financial aid to needy West Seattle families), making them a power couple of public service. As an aside, keep an eye out for an upcoming Herald profile on this West Seattle couple dedicated to helping others!