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Thread: 17 Western Pennsylvania officers killed in line of duty since 2001

  1. #1
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    17 Western Pennsylvania officers killed in line of duty since 2001

    By RICH CHOLODOFSKY
    The Tribune-Review

    With his death Friday night, police Officer Brian Shaw became the 17th law enforcement officer from western Pennsylvania to be killed in the line of duty since 2000.

    Shaw, 25, of Lower Burrell was killed during a traffic stop. His accused killer is the subject of a manhunt.

    Investigators said Rahmael Sal Holt, 29, fired at least one shot that struck Shaw in the chest during the incident on Leishman Avenue in New Kensington.

    The other officers who lost their lives:

    • On July 14, state Trooper Michael Stewart was killed on Route 711 in Ligonier when his vehicle struck a garbage truck. No criminal charges resulted from Stewart's death.

    • Canonsburg police Officer Scott Leslie Bashioum was shot and killed when he and another officer were ambushed during a domestic abuse call on Nov. 10, 2016.

    • St. Clair police Officer Lloyd Reed was gunned down on Nov. 28, 2015 as he responded to a domestic abuse call at a home. His accused killer, Raymond Shetler , 32, of New Florence, is awaiting trial and county prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against him if he is convicted of first-degree murder.

    •Ligonier Township police Officer Eric Eslary, 40, was killed May 5, 2015 when his vehicle was hit on Route 30 by a drunk driver. His killer, Clair Fink , 33, of Ligonier pleaded guilty last year to third-degree murder and was sentenced in February to serve 12 to 30 years in prison.

    • Lower Burrell police Officer Derek Kotecki was killed Oct. 12, 2011 during an ambush outside of a fast food restaurant. Charlie Post, the man police say fatally shot Kotecki, was killed during a shootout with police.

    • Penn Hills police Officer Robert Crawshaw died in a gun battle on Dec. 6, 2009 when his patrol car was sprayed with gunfire from an AK-47-style rifle.

    • Pittsburgh police Officers Paul Sciullio, Stephen James Mayhle and Eric Guy Kelly were killed in a shootout in the Stanton Heights section of the city on April 4, 2009.

    • FBI Special Agent Samuel Hicks was shot to death as he and other agents attempted to serve a warrant in Indiana Township on Nov. 19, 2008.

    • State police Cpl. Joseph Pokorny was shot to death during a traffic stop on Dec. 12, 2005 in Carnegie.

    • Perryopolis police Officer Richard Champion died on Dec. 12, 2004 during a vehicle pursuit.

    • State police trooper Robert Bianchin of Harmony died in a car crash in Harmony, Butler County, on April 27, 2003.

    • State police trooper Joseph Sepp was shot during a gun battle on Nov. 9, 2002 in Somerset.

    • State police trooper Tod C. Kelly died after being struck by road debris in Robinson on Nov. 7, 2001.

    • Aliquippa police Officer James Naim , 32, of Hopewell, Beaver County, was shot to death while patrolling the Linmar Terrace housing complex in Aliquippa on March 15, 2001.

    According to the Officer Down memorial web page, there have been 115 deaths of on-duty police officers throughout the United States in 2017.

    http://triblive.com/local/valleynews...uty-since-2001

  2. #2
    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    One year later: Remembering Tecumseh’s fallen officer

    By Kim Morava
    Shawnee News Star

    On the night of March 26, 2017, Tecumseh Police Officer Justin Terney made a traffic stop just like he would have done on any other shift.

    On the night of March 26, 2017, Tecumseh Police Officer Justin Terney made a traffic stop just like he would have done on any other shift.

    But on this night, the courteous police officer encountered a man with felony warrants who didn’t want to go back to jail.

    That passenger ran into the woods, with Terney giving chase.

    Shots rang out in the darkness.

    Moments later, “Central, I’ve been hit... Central, I’ve been shot,” were the words Terney relayed over the police radio.

    Although he was critically injured, Terney returned fire, wounding his assailant.

    Terney died the following morning — March 27, 2017 — and nothing would ever be the same for Terney’s family, the Tecumseh community or its police department.

    A grieving family, community

    In the hours and days after Terney’s death, The Tecumseh Police Department, the community and Terney’s family would grieve a life taken much too soon.

    The young officer – just 22 years old – loved his job and had a lifetime of plans ahead of him.

    His death brought the grieving community together to support the officer’s family as well as Terney’s brothers in law enforcement, and that show of support came in many fashions.

    Residents and first responders lined the streets of Tecumseh as a law enforcement processional escorted Terney through Tecumseh en route to his hometown of Canadian, Oklahoma, where funeral services were held.

    One evening, a crowd packed a closed Washington Street in front of the Tecumseh police station for a candlelight vigil.

    And just days after Terney’s death, District Attorney Richard Smothermon filed formal first-degree murder charges against the man accused of murdering the young officer, with prosecutors also releasing some of the footage taken by Terney’s patrol car dash camera during the traffic stop.

    The suspect, Byron James Shepard, 36, was still hospitalized from his gunshot wounds when he was formally charged on March 29, 2017. Upon release, he was transferred to the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center, where he has remained jailed without bond. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty upon conviction and Shepard’s jury trial is scheduled in June.

    The driver of the vehicle stopped by Terney that night, Brooklyn Danielle Williams, 23, was initially jailed on a complaint of harboring a fugitive, but was later charged with second-degree murder. She remains jailed and her next court date is scheduled May 1.

    Terney, who is remembered as always being ready for a laugh and often joked about how he only needed no-bake cookies and chocolate milk to be happy, enjoyed being a cop and aspired to one day become a K-9 officer. On his own, he acquired a puppy, Onyx, and planned to train him to work the streets of Tecumseh.

    Terney never got that chance, but Onyx, now a working K-9 in Pottawatomie County, turned out to be everything Terney dreamed he could be – and so much more.

    A year later

    Today, the puppy Terney saw so much potential in has completed his K-9 training and is now a full-time, certified narcotics K-9 officer handled by Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Deputy Jared Strand in honor of the Tecumseh Police Department.

    Onyx is continuing the work Terney dreamed of doing – with Onyx already having great success on patrols in Pottawatomie County, including a two-pound marijuana discovery in recent weeks.

    In the past year, the Tecumseh Police Department has been through a few changes, but Terney is never far from the minds of his fellow officers.

    Earlier this year, longtime Tecumseh Police Chief Gary Crosby, who led his department through its darkest hours, days and weeks after Terney’s death, retired from a lifelong career serving the city of Tecumseh for 39 years.

    His Assistant Police Chief, J.R. Kidney, who is now serving as the department’s acting chief, said as the one-year anniversary of Terney’s death approaches, the department and its officers are still healing.

    “We’ve had some tough times,” Kidney said, “but the support of the citizens has been great.”

    Kidney said many things remind them of Terney and they miss their co-worker and friend.

    Something that has helped the department, Kidney said, is that he attended a training event specifically designed for police departments that have experienced the loss of an officer — and he was able to bring that training back to Tecumseh and provide it to the entire department.

    The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also has a peer support group, he said, and that program has been very helpful to the department as well.

    Just inside the police department foyer, a tribute wall of items sent to the department in Terney’s memory — and even a painting of Terney — reminds officers daily what Terney meant to them and the community.

    And on Tuesday, March 27, as officers mark the one-year anniversary of Terney’s death, the Tecumseh Police Department also will unveil its new Tecumseh Fallen Officers Memorial, which includes the names of three Tecumseh officers killed in the line of duty in the Tecumseh Police Department’s history, including Terney.

    Ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of the Tecumseh Police Department on Washington Street.

    Terney’s named was added last April to the Pottawatomie County Fallen Heroes Memorial in front of the Pottawatomie County courthouse.

    In addition to those local memorials, Kidney said Terney’s name will soon be added to both the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial in Oklahoma City and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C.

    During Police Week, which is held each year in May, thousands converge on Washington D.C. at the national memorial to pay tribute to officers lost in the past year.

    Terney’s family and four Tecumseh police officers will travel to Washington D.C. for those ceremonies, Kidney said.

    http://www.news-star.com/news/201803...fallen-officer
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