Sgt. Arthur L. HERSHEY of the Pennsylvania State Police, Bedford Station, was killed in a traffic mishap on the PA turnpike (Dublin Township, Fulton County) around 1300 hrs on January 3, 1999. Preliminary reports are that he was involved in a minor vehicle accident himself and had gotten out of his unmarked police vehicle and was talking to a uniformed trooper who had responded to the scene. The driver of an approaching pickup truck lost control on the partially snow covered roadway and struck HERSHEY as he stood along the south berm of the eastbound lanes. He died at the scene. "Art" was 51 years old and had been with the Pennsylvania State Police since 1971. He was the supervisor of the criminal investigations unit at the Bedford station of Troop G. Art was a member of the Tactical Mounted Unit and was on his way from Bedford to the State Police Academy in Hershey, Pa to practice for the mounted drill to be conducted at the opening ceremonies of the Pennsylvania Farm Show on January 9. 1999.
Four Russian policemen were killed Tuesday by gunmen near the breakaway republic of Chechnya, officials said. The officers were killed in Ingushetia, near the border with Chechnya, where the assailants fled after the attack, Russian news agencies quoted police as saying Tuesday. Since the end of a two-year war for independence from Russia in 1996, gangs involved in kidnapping and organized crime have operated freely in Chechnya. Violence has often spilled into neighboring Russian regions. Also Tuesday, the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reported that authorities in Chechnya have arrested 12 militants suspected of carrying out a series of kidnappings. Sharpudi Tasuyev, a deputy chief of Chechnya's anti-kidnapping squad, said one of the suspects' victims was a 13-year-old boy kidnapped in the Chechen capital, Grozny. The boy remains missing. Tasuyev said nearly 200 people were kidnapped last year, and over 100 remain in captivity.
A Chicago Police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty and his partner was also wounded Saturday January 9, 1998 in the early afternoon. The officers were patrolling the streets in the Fernwood neighborhood, on the south side of Chicago, when they attempted to investigate a suspicious car. The car sped off and the officers followed. The chase led to a shootout with one of the suspects when the offender began shooting at the officers through the windshield of their tactical car. Tactical officer John Knight was shot in the face and arm and died from his injuries. Officer James Butler was able to shoot the suspect several times in the face and arm before being struck in the hip. Officer Butler was treated and released from Christ Hospital Saturday. Police officers tracked down and arrested the suspect in the area of 99th and Parnell in the Fernwood community. The suspect is hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds. Officer Knight was 38 years old, a 9 year veteran, and a father of 3..
Thursday night, at approximately 9:15pm central time, an undercover TBI agent was shot twice in the face with a .380. He was life flighted to Vanderbilt hospital, where he spent most of the night in surgery. I learned this morning that though he is in critical condition, he will pull through. He will spend months in recovery and surgery. The family is holding up as well as can be expected. @ were arrested on scene and the shooter is at large.
On 10 Jan 99, James was shot by a 19 year old, Chad Rhodes, while searching for a firearm thrown from a vehicle by some of Rhodes' compadres during a car chase. During the chase friends of Rhodes called Rhodes on a cell phone and told him where they tossed the shotgun just prior to being apprehended by the pursuing officers. Rhodes drove to scence stopping on a nearby overpass. While standing on the overpass, Rhodes saw several officers searching for the weapon his friends tossed from the car. As the officers stood over the recovered shotgun, Rhodes fired at least eight rounds from an assault rifle, killing James Williams and wounding a second officer, James Oare. James is survived by his Wife, Sabrina and three children Alexander 10. Aaron 5, and Arianna 4.
On 01/13/99 at approx. 1700 hours Trooper Patrick YOUNG of the PA State Police, Hollidaysburg station was injured while at the scene of a traffic accident on interstate 99, Blair County. YOUNG had just radioed that he was on scene and was apparently half way out of his marked police car when a Jeep Cherokee skidded out of control on the icy roadway and slammed into the rear of YOUNG's car. YOUNG was thrown out onto the highway and then crawled back to his vehicle to radio for help. He was discharged from the hospital the next day and is expected to return to work in about a week. The troop car was totaled.
On 01-15-99 off-duty New Orleans Police Officer Gifford Riess was shot and killed by her former boyfriend Chris Riley. Riley, reported to be a former Navy SEAL, had been stalking Officer Riess after she broke off their relationship. On the day of the murder, Riley went to the rookie Officer's apartment, despite a restraining order, and shot her to death. A short time later a fellow Officer and academy classmate of Riess was checking on her when he confronted Riley as he exited the apartment. Shots were exchanged and a short time later the murder suspect committed suicide in the apartment. Officer Riess was 24 years old when she was murdered and was assigned to the sixth police district. She had been a police officer for about nine months.
Capt. George "Jake" Stasko, one of The City's top cops, was killed early Saturday in a one-car crash hours after he led his squad in a dramatic shootout with a suspect in a downtown bank robbery. Capt. Stasko, 47, head of the SFPD's special operations group, died about 1:20 a.m. Saturday after his unmarked police car swerved off U.S. 101 in Sonoma County and hit a tree. He was driving to his Santa Rosa home after an exhausting day and night of police work, including an investigation of the Bank of America robbery and chase in downtown San Francisco in which two officers were shot. Police spokesman Sherman Ackerson said Capt. Stasko had remained at the police command post until about 9:30 p.m. after the 5:15 p.m. shootout. Ackerson said the captain then organized a meeting of his unit and apparently stayed in San Francisco after the investigation for several more hours. The accident, near Todd Road just south of Santa Rosa, was witnessed by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy following Capt. Stasko as he cruised home in the fast lane. The deputy reported that Capt. Stasko's car began slowly swerving off the left hand side of the road and plowed into a tree, according to Ackerson. It appeared Capt. Stasko fell asleep at the wheel, said Lau, who called the captain "an outstanding officer and a good friend." He leaves a wife and three children.
January 18 at 7:28 p.m., West Virginia State Trooper Douglas Wayne Bland, 26 years of age, a three ( 3 ) year veteran assigned to the Marlinton detachment, was dispatched by Pocahontas County 911 to a vehicle accident. He did not arrive at the dispatched call. When Senior Trooper Bland was given the call, he was patrolling along W.V. 219 near Edray ( unincorporated ), Pocahontas County. Failing to arrive or answer his radio, Troopers and Pocahontas County Deputies began to search for him. At 9:30 p.m., a civilian employee of the Pocahontas County Sheriff's Ofice, Larry Taylor, located Senior Trooper Bland. For reasons unknown at this time, his blue and gold cruiser left state route 39 approximately six miles east of Marlinton and came to rest upside down in Knapps Creek. Bland was transported to Pocahontas County Hospital by Marlinton Rescue Squad a short time later. Trooper Douglas Wayne Bland was pronounced deat at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday morning. The cause of death is not known at this time. His body will be taken to the Medical Examiners Office in Morganstown. Senior Trooper Bland, Wayne as he was known to his friends, was married to Colette Bland and resided in White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County. He joined the West Virginia State Police in October 1995 as a member of the 44th Cadet-Trooper class. Since his graduation from the Academy in March of 1996, he has been assigned to the Elkins, Webster Springs and Marlinton Detachment.
lt robbie bishop shot in the head on simple traffic stop wednesday jan. 20 1999 at 11:oo a.m. he was a drug interdiction officer for carrollton county ga. I would like your help in letting everyone know that the law enforcement world has lost a friend. Our Capt. Robbie Bishop was killed in the line of duty Wed. morning around 11am. He was a drug interdiction officer who worked in the state of ga., al., miss. nc. and other areas. He was one of the best there ever was. He left behind a wife, and 2 small kids. Please tell everyone to keep his family in there prayers. Captain Bishop was shot and killed while writing a citation after making a traffic stop. He had stopped a vehicle on I-20, about 20 miles east of the Alabama state line, at approximately 11:00 hours and was issuing a citation when the suspect shot him in the head. He was found by a passing motorist slumped over the wheel of his cruiser and flown to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 15:30 hours. The suspect has been identified and a warrant has been issued him.
On January 23, 1999, Officer Brian Aselton of the East Hartford CT. police department was shot and killed while investigating a loud noise complaint. Officer Aselton was a two year member of the department and leaves behind a loving family, a brother who is an officer with Torrington, CT., and a twin sister. Officer Aselton was dispatched to a loud noise complaint that was later found to have been an armed robbery in progress. In attempting to arrest the armed suspect he was shot in the head and killed instantly. The shooter and two accomplices were caught several days later when Ofc. A. Weaver of the Hartford Police Dept. made a routine motor vehicle stop and on of the individuals in the vehicle supplied Off. Weaver with information leading to the arrest of the shooter. Some 8000 officers from the New England area layed Officer Aselton to rest yesterday, Jan. 28, 1998.
On January 17 at approximately 0034 hrs, Officers Berta and Zelepos of the Braddock Police Dept. were coducting a traffic stop on Talbot Ave. The operator of the vehicle, Rico Deshawn Carter, was well known to the surrounding areas as a drug dealer and gun toter. Sometime during the stop, Carter exited his vehicle and approached the police cruiser. While the officers were out of their vehicle talking with Carter, one of the officers noticed that Carter was wearing a bullet proof vest. They began to inquire as to why Carter was wearing a vest when one of the officers observed the butt of a pistol sticking out of Carters pocket. A struggle began for control of the pistol. Officer Zelepos slipped on the icy road and lost control of the pistol. At that time, Carter retrieved the gun and fired one shot from a Glock .45 which struck Zelepos in the scalp line. Berta was able to return fire, but Carter fled the scene. Within a matter of one-half hour, there were 14 agencies on scene aiding in the search for Carter. The great news is that Officer Zelepos survived with receiving several stitches. He spent a day or so in the hospital for observations and was released. On Wednesday January 19, Rico Deshawn Carter turned himself in with his attorney. The wheels of justice will be turning on Wed. the 27 when Carter has his day in court. Responding agencies: Braddock, N. Braddock, Rankin, Forest Hills, Braddock Hills, East Pittsburgh, West Mifflin, Homestead, West Homestead, Whitaker, Swissvale, Pennsylvania State Police, Allegheny County Sheriffs.
LOUISVILLE — The condition of a Kentucky State Police trooper hospitalized after being attacked and shot three times with his own service weapon was upgraded yesterday. Trooper Brent Wasson, 28, an Auburn resident assigned to the state police post in Bowling Green, underwent surgery at Jewish Hospital on Wednesday night. Admitted to the hospital in serious but stable condition, his condition has improved to stable. ``He came through surgery last night real well,'' said Trooper Nick Stephens, a spokesman for the Bowling Green post. Wasson was shot in the forearm, shoulder and cheek while on a call at a rural residence between Morgantown and Rochester in south-central Kentucky. His alleged attacker, Timothy Earl Welborn, 35, appeared in Warren District Court yesterday morning and in Butler District Court in the afternoon. In Butler County, where Welborn was charged with attempted murder of a police officer and first-degree assault, both felonies, a psychiatric evaluation was ordered. Bond was set at $1 million, but his next court date wasn't scheduled, pending the evaluation. No bond was set in Warren county, where the charges were tampering with physical evidence, a felony, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. A preliminary hearing on those charges was set for Feb. 9. The tampering with physical evidence and resisting arrest counts stemmed from an episode at the Bowling Green post, where Welborn was originally taken for questioning. Stephens said it happened after Welborn had asked to use the bathroom. As officers switched his handcuffs from back to front, Welborn allegedly grabbed a piece of paper from inside his pants and tried to destroy it. The paper was taken into evidence, but Stephens declined to say what, if anything, had been written on it. Wasson was the first trooper to arrive after being dispatched to the home Wednesday morning. Welborn was allegedly making threats to kill all non-Christians. After speaking briefly with Welborn inside the house, Wasson was attacked and his 10mm semiautomatic pistol was taken from its holster. Welborn allegedly fired several shots at the officer, who managed to run outside to his cruiser, where he grabbed his shotgun and fired a single blast that missed Welborn, state police said. A few minutes later, Butler County sheriff's deputies and other state troopers showed up and arrested Welborn without any resistance.
Doug was in a serious car accident. He was in the ICU of our local hospital and is now in there rehab unit. He should be home in 3-4 weeks.
William G. Maher, served with both the Boston and Cambridge, MA police departments. Also worked as a special investigator in the Violent Crimes Division of the Mass. Attorney General's Office. Was the first hostage negotiator for the Cambridge Police Dept. Decorated with six Battle Stars from the Pacific theater, United States Navy WWII. Died on January 27, 1999 at age 75.
At 03:52 hours,01-28-99, Medic 9-51 reported on scene, reporting a car on-side into pole , 2- trapped and vehicle on fire. The fire was knock-down by medics with a portable extinguisher. 51 Engine 4 extended 1 3/4" line and extinguished fire. At 03:54 hours, on-scene EMS Command requested 59 Rescue (Mayfield) and an additional BLS ambulance from Station 51. The vehicle involved in MVA was a Mayfield MI Police vehicle. Mayfield Patrolman Fife was transporting a suspected DUI male to Marion Community Hospital for blood alcohol testing in a non-emergent mode. For some unknown reason the police vehicle left the roadway hitting a wooden retaining wall and coming to rest on it side between the retaining wall and a utility pole. EMS Chief James Pettinato coordinated EMS & extrication operations. The male prisoner was extricated from the rear seat using hydraulic cutters, cutting through rear "C" post and to the rear side of "B" post making a forward roof flap. Unconscious male was still hand-cuffed. Once extricated, l Carbondale Police officers removed handcuffs to allow paramedics to gain IV access. Officer Fife was self-extricated from the front seat. Both patients were transported to Community Medical Center (Trauma Center) in Scranton. Both officer Fire and the prisoner are in stable condition.