Now a Trooper!

[NYH1]

Trooper shot to death in rural western New York
3/1/2006, 8:08 p.m. ET
By BEN DOBBIN
The Associated Press    

BIG FLATS, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state trooper was shot and killed Wednesday while authorities were investigating an armed robbery at a bank in this rural western New York village, police said.

The trooper was killed about 90 minutes after a robbery at noon in Big Flats, which lies midway between Corning and Elmira above the Pennsylvania state line.

Details of the killing and its aftermath were still sketchy, said state police Lt. Glenn Miner. He did not give further details.

State police said Wednesday night they were hunting a 1997-model Ford Taurus with New York license plates. The trooper was killed a few miles from the village.

The victim, who was not immediately identified, was the 23rd trooper felled by gunfire since the New York State Police was formed in 1917.

"Our prayers are with his family," Gov. George Pataki said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "We'll do everything we can to apprehend the perpetrator of this heinous crime."

Police and the FBI were investigating a bank robbery at the Chemung Canal Trust Co. in Big Flats. Bank president Jan Updegraff said no one was injured during the robbery. He declined to say how much money was taken or how many robbers there were while the investigation was continuing.

About 20 police units were mobilized in the area of Big Flats next to Interstate 86. All schools in the Horseheads and Elmira Heights School District were locked down, and parents were told to pick up their children and sign them out at the end of the school day.

The shooting occurred two days after a Town of New Hartford police officer near Utica was shot and killed while chasing a robbery suspect.

The last state trooper killed in the line of duty was Lawrence Gleason, who was shot in the back in February 2002 by a suicidal gunman in the Adirondack hamlet of Crown Point.

In all, 112 state troopers have been killed on duty since the New York State Police was founded, six while on military service in World War II.

[Huntyeraws]

I was truly saddened when I read the name of the trooper who died in the paper the other day and realized who he was. When it happened, they did not disclose the name of the officer and I felt sorry that some SOB's had shot and killed a trooper. Now it hits home.

Although I did not know AJ personally, I do know his dad Andy and a couple of his brothers from LPWA and from work. Ironically, after the last LPWA meeting, his dad and I were having a discussion about DEC officers and he mentioned that his youngest son AJ was a trooper and that he had been involved in catching some fish and game violators over the years. He indicated that he was good at it since he was a sportsman and had a knack for knowing when things were not quite right. During the discussion, I sensed how proud his dad was to have a son being a NYS Trooper. It is good to know that AJ hit two of the offenders and they turned themselves in at area hospitals where they were promptly arrested. They will suffer their fates as they should and that will bring some satisfaction, although it wont bring AJ back. I am sure that Trooper Sperr will be deeply missed by all - even the ones he didn't know, including myself.   :cry:

Obituary - http://www.bartolomeo.com/details.asp?ID=1336

[WNY_Whitetailer]

This is a shame and it really hits home what sh*t bags law enforcement officers come up against every day.  We observed a moment of silence in our LE academy class for the two slain officers.  My heart goes out to their families.

[K.K]

We also are saddened by his loss.  I think that it is a damn shame that law enforcement officers are not more often thought of as heroes BEFORE they fall in the line of duty.

I also think that tragedies like this should be a wake up call to civilians that think that because they live in a rural or suburban area, that reckless attacks do not happen.  We know better.