- State trooper killed, another wounded in separate Pennsylvania shootings that left suspect dead ABC News
- 2 state troopers were shot, 1 fatally, in a manhunt that included several shootouts in Pennsylvania, police say CNN
- Officials identify Pennsylvania State Police trooper killed in officer-involved shooting 6abc Philadelphia
- Former Teammates Remember Corry Native State Trooper Jacques “Jay” Rougeau erienewsnow.com
- Pennsylvania state trooper killed with high-caliber rifle in shootout identified KUTV 2News
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Tag Archives: Trooper
Trooper in ICU, shooter dead after raid at proposed APD training facility, GBI says – WSB-TV Channel 2
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga — A Georgia State Patrol trooper was shot, and the protester who shot him was shot and killed during a raid at the site of a proposed Atlanta Police Department training facility on Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Officials said the trooper was in the ICU and had surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital. He was shot in his pelvic area and was wearing a bulletproof vest during the incident.
GBI Director Mike Register said several agencies raided near the proposed facility that morning. As law enforcement moved through the property, officers found a man inside a tent in the woods.
The GBI released a photo of the tent where the suspect was found.
Officers gave verbal commands to the man, but he did not comply. He then shot a Georgia State Patrol Trooper. That’s when officers returned fire in self-defense, according to the GBI.
Law enforcement officers shot and killed the person who shot the trooper. The shooter’s identity has not been released.
The GBI says the raid was to remove protesters who were at the facility illegally.
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“We would just like to ask for everyone’s thoughts and prayers for his family during this difficult time,” GSP Colonel Chris Wright said.
A Channel 2 Action News photographer saw officers with guns drawn and trained in the woods. According to the GBI, at least four people have been arrested.
Register said building the training center is great for the city, but he supports the right to protest even though he feels protesters have gone over the line several times.
“They’re endangering the community and the citizens in this area,” Register said.
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Protesters disagreed with how the GBI described this incident, telling Channel 2′s Tom Jones that the protest was peaceful.
The facility, which protesters have nicknamed “Cop City,” has been controversial to many.
Protestors say the facility would be wrong for the community and the environment. The proposed facility would take up an 85-acre plot off Key Road in the largest urban forest in metro Atlanta.
Last month, protestors had to be forcibly removed from trees in the area of the proposed facility.
The GBI says the investigation remains active.
As of early Wednesday evening, there was still a significant police presence outside the proposed facility.
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Suspect fatally shot by Delaware state trooper on I-95
NEW CASTLE, Del. (CBS) — A Delaware state trooper fatally shot a suspect along Interstate 95 Friday, forcing the busy highway to be shut down during the investigation. A suspect was fatally shot by Delaware state troopers after leading police on a pursuit involving two carjackings.
The incident began around 7:30 a.m. when troopers were dispatched to the 100 block of Ayre Street in Wilmington for a suspect with a gun. The suspect fled on foot and shots were fired.
A school bus from Delcastle Technical High School was shot during the initial incident, but no one was injured. It’s not clear whether the bullets came from the suspect or police.
The school bus was hit by three bullets nearby the scene. One bullet hit the bus door and hit the driver’s armrest. A second bullet hit a window frame but did not enter the bus. According to a school statement, a third bullet was lodged in the roof of the bus. No students were injured.
The suspect then fled to the area of Route 141 and Route 4 where they stole a vehicle and fled the area. The pursuit continued toward New Castle County behind a Red Roof Inn in Newark where the suspect ditched the car and fled on foot toward I-95 south.
They successfully carjacked a second person where shots were again fired and then fled on I-95 south to the area just south of Route 896.
Police say more gunshots were fired and upon contact with police, the suspect was pronounced deceased from injuries sustained.
“I got scared,” Julissa Trofel, a Newport neighbor, said.
Neighbors heard a barrage of bullets outside their homes on East Ayer Street in Newport near Wilmington around 7:30 Friday morning. One woman recorded police swarming the area after those shots were fired.
“My heart started beating really hard because it was just right there,” Trofel said. “It was around 11 cop cars, it was a lot of detectives, it was crazy this morning.”
Commuters in Delaware should expect traffic delays as an investigation is underway across multiple scenes.
I-95 northbound and southbound lanes were closed in the area of Route 896 in New Castle County on Friday. According to state officials, the part of I-95 has since been reopened.
Delaware State Police say the incident is contained and there is no threat to public safety.
Drivers are advised to avoid the area and urged to use caution and expect delays.
Delaware State Police gave additional updates Friday afternoon.
Police say they are in the early stages of their investigation. Right now, detectives are processing several crime scenes.
Uvalde school shooting: Texas state trooper who was among the first to respond to school massacre has been fired, official says
CNN
—
Sgt. Juan Maldonado, a Texas state trooper who was among the first to respond to the Uvalde mass school shooting in May, has been fired from the state Department of Public Safety, spokesperson Ericka Miller told CNN on Friday.
The public safety department did not disclose the grounds for termination.
CNN has requested additional details from the department regarding their termination process, including timeframe and potential appeal process. CNN has also reached out to Maldonado for comment.
Maldonado’s ousting comes after public outcry and condemnation over the extreme delay in law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary, where a teenage gunman entered adjoining classrooms on May 24 and opened fire.
The shooter killed 19 students and two teachers and wounded others, while dozens of officers arriving on scene failed to immediately take down the gunman.
In early August, CNN was the first to report Maldonado was seen on body camera video arriving 4 minutes and 51 seconds after the gunman began his massacre, which became the deadliest school shooting in the US since 2012.
A total of 376 law enforcement officers would arrive on the scene, yet it took 77 minutes from the onset of the attack before the gunman was shot and killed by authorities, according to a Texas House investigative committee. Some 91 Department of Public Safety officers were among those on scene.
In August, DPS Director Col. Steven McCraw announced an internal review of every DPS officer who responded to the shooting. Seven officers were subsequently referred to the inspector general for further investigation. Their names were not publicly released.
CNN identified one of the officers being investigated as Capt. Joel Betancourt, who issued an order to delay the breach of the classrooms even as a Border Patrol Tactical Unit was entering and stopping the gunman. As of Thursday, Betancourt remained on active duty. DPS declined to comment on Betancourt when asked by CNN Friday.
Another DPS officer under scrutiny was Crimson Elizondo, who left the department and was later hired as a police officer for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. She was fired from that position after CNN reported what she did and said at Robb Elementary on the day of the massacre during the response.
McCraw told CNN in September no officer would get a pass, adding he would also take responsibility if needed.
“I’ll be the first to resign, I’ll gladly resign, I’ll tender my resignation to the governor if I think there is any culpability in the Department of Public Safety. Period,” he said.
CNN is in a coalition of news organizations suing the DPS for records relating to the investigations that have been withheld from the media and public.
As the fallout continues following law enforcement’s botched response to the massacre at Robb Elementary, families of the victims have been demanding greater accountability from officials.
The school board in August fired Pete Arredondo, who was the Uvalde school district police chief at the time of the shooting. State officials identified Arredondo as the on-scene police commander, though he has said he did not consider himself in charge.
At the time, DPS director McCraw blamed Arredondo for officers’ failure to confront the shooter, adding that the commander was “the only thing” that stopped officers. Local officials criticized McCraw and DPS for a lack of transparency regarding their investigation.
Further, some parents also called for the removal of Hal Harrell, who served as the superintendent for the Uvalde school district. Harrell formally retired this week.
“I am truly grateful for your support and well wishes. My decision to retire has not been made lightly and was made after much prayer and discernment,” he said in a social media post dated October 10. “My heart was broken on May 24th and I will always pray for each precious life that was tragically taken as well as their families.”
Harrell’s retirement came months after a Texas state House committee that investigated the response found the school did not comply with safety policies. The committee’s report also said the school failed to adequately prepare for the risk of an armed intruder and the common practice of leaving doors unlocked.
Before retiring, Harrell announced safety measures, including the addition of at least 33 officers, 500 cameras as well as the installation of fences around campuses.
The district has since suspended its police force operations and placed a lieutenant and another top school official on leave as part of its investigation.
Smithsburg, Maryland, shooting: 3 dead, 2 more wounded, including trooper
A trooper and the suspect were wounded and hospitalized, according to Lt. Col. Bill Dofflemyer of the Maryland State Police.
Investigators have not yet established a motive for the workplace shooting, which occurred at about 2:30 p.m. ET, Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore told reporters at a briefing.
The Washington County State’s Attorney’s Office is working to determine charges for the suspect, who is not being named at this time, according to a news release from MSP.
The victims and suspect were employees of Columbia Machine, Mullendore said. The company makes concrete products equipment, according to their website.
The wounded state trooper, who is a 25-year veteran of the agency, was treated for his injuries and released, according to an update from MSP. The suspect was also wounded after at least one of the troopers who responded to the scene returned fire and struck him. He was still being treated Thursday evening, police said.
Police from the nearby town of Smithsburg were first to arrive at the plant and discovered one victim in a field near the business, Mullendore said. A news release from the sheriff’s office said there were four victims total at the plant, three of whom were dead.
State police received a description of the suspect and his vehicle, and three troopers found him driving about 5 miles from the shooting scene.
“When troopers went to stop the vehicle, the suspect immediately started firing multiple (bullets) at the troopers,” Dofflemyer said. A pistol was recovered at the second shooting scene, authorities said.
The sheriff identified the victims who were killed as Mark Alan Frey, 50; Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31; and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30. The other victim was Brandon Chase Michael, 42; police earlier said he was critically injured.
Smithsburg is about 75 miles west of Baltimore. It is about 100 miles from the border with West Virginia, where the suspect lives, according to the sheriff.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is leading the homicide investigation with help from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Baltimore, according to MSP.
Any troopers involved with the shooting “will be placed on administrative duty” until the investigation is complete, per agency protocol, MSP said.
CNN’s Mike Valerio, Michelle Watson and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Sundiata Acoli, Black Nationalist Who Killed N.J. Trooper in ‘73, Wins Parole
“I profoundly wish this law had been in place when Acoli was sentenced in 1974,” Governor Murphy said in a statement. “Our men and women in uniform are heroes, and anyone who would take the life of an officer on duty should remain behind bars until the end of their life.”
Soffiyah Elijah, a civil rights attorney who advocated for Mr. Acoli, praised the Supreme Court for “correcting the Parole Board’s improper application of the law.”
Ms. Elijah said in a statement: “We appreciate and thank his thousands of supporters from the attorneys, individuals and community organizations to those who submitted amicus briefs on his behalf to champion his freedom; freedom that is rightfully his. We strongly hope that Mr. Acoli’s freedom will bring attention to the thousands of elders like him trapped in the New Jersey prison system.”
On May 2, 1973, Mr. Acoli was driving a white Pontiac on the New Jersey Turnpike with two fellow members of the radical Black Liberation Army, James Costan and Joanne D. Chesimard. A trooper, James Harper, stopped the car at about 1 a.m., having observed a broken taillight.
Trooper Foerster, a married 34-year-old officer who lived in Old Bridge, N.J., arrived on the scene as backup.
Ms. Chesimard, who at the time was a leading figure in the Black Liberation Army, fired the first shot, according to trial testimony, starting a shootout among her, Trooper Harper and Mr. Costan.
During the melee, Mr. Acoli attempted to grab Trooper Foerster’s gun, according to the decision.
“In the course of that physical struggle, Acoli claims that Trooper Harper fired at him, grazing the top of his head and causing him to black out,” the decision stated. “According to Acoli, when he regained consciousness, Trooper Foerster’s body was lying on the ground nearby and Acoli fled with Costan and Chesimard, both severely wounded.”
State police won’t comment on audio obtained by AP of investigators grilling state trooper at center of Ronald Greene killing
In the interview with state trooper Chris Hollingsworth, investigators are skeptical of his account, as they refer to police body camera videos that were later made public and show Hollingsworth and other officers tasing Greene, dragging him out of his car and beating him with a flashlight.
The audio obtained by the AP of what is reportedly a two-hour interview provides the latest details to become public in the investigation. In a story, and edited clips of the audio the AP made public, Hollingsworth reportedly tells investigators, “I was scared. He could have done anything once my hold was broke off him — and that’s why I struck him.”
The case, which has drawn national attention, is under federal investigation and is also being investigated by a committee in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Greene’s family was told by state police that Greene died in a car crash, but nine body camera and dash-camera videos released last year by the state police — more than two years after Greene’s death — told a different story of what happened on the night of May 10, 2019, near the city of Monroe.
The state police would not comment on the latest audio and told CNN they handed over all evidence they gathered to federal investigators. The Louisiana Governor’s Office and Patrick Scott Wolleson, an attorney for Hollingsworth, did not immediately return a request for comment from CNN. Members of the special legislative committee told CNN that the committee was in the process of subpoenaing the video.
Hollingsworth was set to be fired for violations of his body-worn camera and car camera systems, use of force, performance, lawful orders, and for conduct unbecoming an officer, but he died in a car crash before he could be fired, officials said.
The AP account of the incident says Greene offered no resistance.
In the new audio clips, Hollingsworth can be heard saying, “I wasn’t trying to use deadly force against him, I only wanted to free my arm.”
The investigators interviewing Hollingsworth are skeptical: “According to this video, at least according to us, it doesn’t appear that you ever gave him a chance to get out of the car. You pretty much run up to the window and within a second or two, you tase him. How come?”
Hollingsworth said he “was in fear that he was going to hurt myself” and a colleague. He went on to “I didn’t mean it to be degrading, and, I didn’t know how serious the injuries were.”
Ron Haley, attorney for Greene’s family, told CNN that the family has heard the audio.
“The family has heard the audio through a leak,” Haley told CNN by phone. He said a gag order limits him on what he can say about the case, but added, “I know we cannot rush a federal investigation. But it just seems like the goal line keeps getting pushed back. Now we’re pushing on year three and we still have no indictment.”
According to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Greene’s family, the family was initially told Greene died on impact during the crash. A report from Glenwood Medical Center listed the principal cause of death as cardiac arrest and described an “unspecified injury” to Greene’s head. Post-mortem photos published on the NAACP Baton Rouge Facebook page showed large abrasions to Greene’s skull and bruising on his cheeks.
The troopers involved have maintained that Greene’s death “was caused by crash-related blunt force chest trauma that resulted in a fractured sternum and ruptured aorta,” and have maintained they had to use force to restrain him “for their own personal safety and for the safety of the public,” according to court documents.
A report from the Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division’s investigation into Greene’s in-custody death cited a “struggle” with state troopers.
“A short time later Greene became unresponsive and was transported to Glenwood Medical Center by Pafford Medical Service,” the report said. Greene died on the way to the medical center, according to the LSP report.
Audio from Hollingsworth’s body camera that was released by state police revealed a telephone exchange inside his patrol vehicle after the beating. He begins by saying Greene was drunk.
“And I beat the ever-living f**k out of him, choked him and everything else trying to get him under control and we finally got him in handcuffs when a third man got there and the son of a b*tch was still fighting and we was still wrestling with him trying to hold him down because he was spitting blood everywhere,” Hollingsworth says in the video.
He adds, “and then all of a sudden he just went limp.”
Two men dead, Arkansas State Trooper shot after exchange of gunfire during chase on I-55, TBI says – FOX13 News Memphis
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — An Arkansas State Trooper shot and killed two men and was shot himself Thursday afternoon on I-55 in Memphis, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Police originally confirmed that the state trooper was shot to FOX13 around 2:50 p.m.
PHOTOS: Arkansas State Trooper shot in Memphis, police say
The TBI said that the Arkansas State Police began chasing a car with two men in it in West Memphis, Arkansas. At least one of those men had a warrant out of South Carolina, according to the TBI.
During the chase, at least one of the men in the car opened fire on the officers, leading at least one but maybe two Arkansas State Police officers to open fire on the car, the TBI said.
Both of the men in that car were shot and killed in the gunfire from Arkansas State Police, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The identities of those men were not released during the TBI’s update at 7:20 p.m. Thursday night.
State police said that the officer who was hit is in stable condition with no serious injuries. FOX13 learned that the trooper was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting.
Arkansas State Police identified the state trooper as 33-year-old Spencer Morris, a three-year veteran of the Arkansas State Police Highway Patrol Division. After being examined at a Memphis hospital, Morris was released and sent home, according to Arkansas State Police.
FOX13 crews saw a large police presence with multiple agencies at the intersection of I-55 and McLemore Ave around 3 p.m.
All lanes in that area were shut down for hours while those law enforcement agencies investigated.
Arkansas State Police, the U.S. Marshals, and Memphis Police were just some of the several agencies on the scene.
This is a developing story. Check back frequently and tune into FOX13 News at 9 p.m. for the latest details.
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New York state trooper charged with murder in death of 11-year-old girl
A New York state trooper was indicted for murder in connection with the death of an 11-year-old Brooklyn girl on the New York State Thruway last December, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Christopher Baldner allegedly rammed into a vehicle that had fled a traffic stop, causing it to flip over, killing young Monica Goods, Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a Wednesday press release.
Baldner had pulled over the girl’s father, Tristan Goods, for speeding in Ulster County on the night of Dec. 22, 2020.
At some point during the traffic stop, Baldner deployed pepper spray in the car. Tristan, his wife Monica, and the girl’s 12-year-old sister were also in the car.
Tristan then sped away and Baldner pursued the scofflaw with a vengeance — twice ramming his patrol car into the back of the Goods’ vehicle at a high rate of speed, according to the state’s top prosecutor.
The second impact cause the car to flip over several times and ejected Monica, killing her, James alleged.
Baldner, 43, was charged with second-degree murder, along with manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges, prosecutors said. He faces 25 years to life in prison.
“Trooper Baldner surrendered this morning and was immediately suspended without pay. The State Police investigated this matter and cooperated with the AG’s office and will continue to do so,” the NYSP said in a statement to The Post.
“As with every State Police investigation, our mission is to determine facts and ensure that justice is served, even when it involves one of our own members. Accountability is critically important to our agency.”
The Goods were heading north on I-87 to visit relatives for Christmas, according to the release.
“Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve, but Trooper Baldner allegedly violated that trust when he used his car as a deadly weapon and killed a young girl,” said James.
“While nothing will bring Monica back, we must hold law enforcement to the highest standards, which is why my office is committed to seeking justice in this case.”
In 2019, Baldner also used his vehicle to ram into the back of a car, endangering the lives of three passengers, prosecutors said.
N.Y. Trooper Charged in Death of 11-Year-Old Girl
Not long before midnight on Dec. 22, a New York state trooper stopped a car for speeding near Kingston, about an hour and a half north of Manhattan. Inside were Tristin Goods, his wife, April, and his daughters, Monica, 11, and Tristina, 12. They were heading north on the New York State Thruway, on their way to visit family for Christmas.
In the exchange that followed, Mr. Goods and the trooper, Christopher Baldner, began to argue, and Mr. Goods, his lawyer said, asked to speak to a supervisor. Trooper Baldner responded by shooting pepper spray into the car, officials said.
Fearing for his safety, his lawyer said, Mr. Goods drove off. Trooper Baldner chased him at a high speed. When he caught up to Mr. Goods, he rammed his car once and then, seconds later, rammed it again.
The impact knocked Mr. Goods’s car over a guardrail into the highway’s southbound lanes, his lawyer said. The vehicle flipped over several times before landing on its roof. Tossed from the car as it tumbled, Monica Goods died.
On Wednesday, Trooper Balder, 43, was charged with murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment in an indictment announced by Letitia James, New York’s attorney general.
“Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve,” Ms. James said in a statement. “But Trooper Baldner allegedly violated that trust when he used his car as a deadly weapon and killed a young girl.”
The Daily News reported the indictment earlier on Wednesday.
Trooper Baldner, a 19-year veteran of the State Police, turned himself in to the authorities early Wednesday. He was arraigned in Ulster County Court and ordered held in custody pending a bail hearing next week. He was suspended without pay upon surrendering, said William Duffy, a State Police spokesman.
“As with every state police investigation, our mission is to determine facts and ensure that justice is served, even when it involves one of our own members,” Mr. Duffy said, adding that the State Police was continuing to work with Ms. James’s office in investigating the matter. “Accountability is critically important to our agency.”
The incident involving the Goods was not the first such confrontation for Trooper Baldner, officials said. The indictment also charges him with endangering the lives of three people by ramming his vehicle into their car in a separate incident in the Kingston area in September 2019.
In yet another episode, which Gov. Kathy Hochul cited when she named Ms. James a special prosecutor in the case last week, Trooper Baldner struck a car in the same area in January 2017. The indictment did not include any charges related to that episode.
Trooper Baldner’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the murder count.
Thomas H. Mungeer, the president of the union that represents New York troopers, said in a statement that “we look forward to a review and public release of the facts, including the motorist’s reckless actions that started this chain of events.”
Reached by phone on Wednesday, Mr. Goods declined to comment on the charges against Trooper Baldner and referred questions to his lawyer, Joseph O’Connor.
Mr. O’Connor said that his client was “not celebrating today” but “was relieved” to learn of the indictment. Mr. O’Connor also said he expected data recorded by computers in his client’s car and the trooper’s vehicle to figure prominently in the prosecution.
Sanford Rubenstein, a lawyer for Monica Goods’s mother, Michelle Surrency, said the charges were “the first step in the fight for justice” in the case.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research.