Who was Bruce Coval Meneley, the decorated U.S. Navy officer killed in a child sex trafficking sting?

This article mentions child sex abuse. Please take care while reading.

The man pulled a gun when the three officers emerged from a hotel room at DoubleTree Hotel near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The police were there on a sex trafficking sting, and the officers shot and killed the suspect at the scene. They only later found out who he was.

Bruce Coval Meneley, a 67-year-old retired Navy captain and doctor, was the man killed on April 17, 2024. Meneley exchanged fire with the officers, all of whom wore body cams, and wounded one who recovered, Stars and Stripes reported. Meneley, a naval officer and medical doctor, retired from the Navy in 2016, and one year later, he was arrested in Bremerton, Washington, near Seattle, for soliciting prostitution.

At that time, he told the police he had been arrested in Texas for soliciting prostitutes, sent to a diversion program, and ordered to perform community service. But the day he died, Meneley, who was reportedly married, had arranged to meet two underage girls for sex.

Meneley thought he was meeting 7 and 11-year-old children

Bruce Meneley arrived on April 17 to meet who he thought were 7 and 11-year-old girls, but he had been targeted in an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation. Instead, three officers waited in the hotel room for his arrival.

Details of Meneley’s naval career make what happened that much more shocking. The highly awarded naval officer commanded the NATO Role 3 multinational medical unit in Afghanistan and led the medical group at Guantanamo Bay for several years. In 2016, Meneley spoke with The New York Times about Guantanamo Bay and the alleged abuses of prisoners at the U.S.-led detention camp.

Details of what Meneley’s life was like after he retired are scarce. His death was ruled a homicide, and the officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, according to the Seattle Police Department. As of this report, the investigation was ongoing.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788.