Posted on 08/31/2006 7:22:26 PM PDT by Dan Nunn
A nursing supervisor at a western New York hospital has confirmed to the Associated Press that two state troopers have been shot in Chautauqua County.
AP reports that Sheryl Polito, nursing supervisor at Brooks Memorial Hospital near Fredonia, said one of the troopers had been brought to Brooks before being flown to Erie County Medical Center and that another trooper was taken to Hamot Medical Center in Pennsylvania.
AP also reports that a nursing supervisor at Erie County Medical Center, who declined to give her name, confirmed a state trooper was in critical condition. She said she did not expect his condition to change tonight.
(Excerpt) Read more at wgrz.com ...
From the WKBW site:
"Aug 31, 2006 - Several police sources have confirmed to 7 News that a state trooper has been killed and another officer seriously wounded, apparently while trying to execute an arrest warrant connected to the search for fugitive Ralph Phillips.
There is a massive police presence in the area of Bachelor Hill Road in Chattaqua County and there are numerous reports of multiple gun shots.
Reporter John Borsa is at the state police barracks in Fredonia where he has been given no official confirmation but has been told the State Police Superintendent is on his way from Albany.
Reporter Steve Barber is at Brooks Memorial Hospital where he reports at least one police officer is being air lifted to ECMC in Buffalo. "
The scrolling banner at the top of the page offers the same information.
Another mental pygmy criminal ... I hope this POS is wasted when the cops finally catch up with him.
Some of "Bucky's" relatives were recently released after being charged with aiding and abetting his escape from capture. If this has led to the killing and injuries to more cops, these people are definitely liable.
Some of the local media seem to be trying to ascribe "folk hero" status to this scum -- it's simply disgusting...
Very sad about the trooper. My prayers go out to both of them and their families.
I agree.
This has been going on for a very long time for one man to be running around in rural land with helicopters and police everywhere. Not to mention the State Police already killed someone else on accident riding his ATV when they believed he was Bucky...
What?
ummm... that was no accident. IIRC that guy DRAGGED the Trooper about a mile before he was shot to death.
That was at least 1/2 mile too long, unless he couldn't get to his weapon sooner.
they were trying to execute an arrest warrant for Bucky - did they have him located in some house? is there a standoff now, or did he get away?
I tried to find some information on this accident, but strangely the media has disclosed nothing, and it's all been heresay at this point...
I can only speculate that after being dragged a mile, I wouldn't have dead-on accuracy. Not to say it couldn't have been luck, but I'm skeptical. Of course, the guy on the ATV shouldn't have been running, given the circumstances.
That's where I took my class to get my concealed carry permit, too. The owner's a great guy, and it's too bad this happened. I, too, wonder how it's related to Bucky...
Bucky Phillips escapes out the rear window of home while State Police surround the front (my title).
How they have failed to catch him by now is amazing to me.
I recall reading the local citizens have grown tired of endless police roadblocks, apparently it was constant for weeks and weeks, to try and find him.
Dang, that's a real shame. Prayers go out for the loved ones of the slain trooper. May God comfort them and give them strength in the difficult days ahead. Prayers go out for the wounded trooper that he makes a complete recovery, and I pray that they catch this murderer before anyone else gets hurt.
"and that another trooper was taken to Hamot Medical Center in Pennsylvania"
I have two cousins working as nurses in that hospital and one in the ER.
I hope they get that scum bag once and for all. I have a feeling that this incident does not bode well for gun ownership in NY State. Particularly with the likely election of the likes of Spitzer and Cuomo.
Maybe one of the southern tier NY gun owners will get to exercise his 2nd Ammendment rights thus saving the taxpayers the expense of a trial.
Put a 250,000 $ bounty on his head and it wouldn't take more than a month.
Unbelievably this guy has become something of a folk hero. I think it would be sweet justice if he goes down in a hail of lead from the NYSP. Perhaps if it is a private citizen with a CC permit that takes him out, NY may reconsider some of their restrictive gun laws.
What's unbelievable? Small rural communities that feel their being short-shrifted by an over-powering state. Local boy defies authority, escapes and kills agents of said state. State responds ham-handedly. The only thing missing is robbing from the rich to give to the poor. Hopefully the ending of this story-book tale ends with him rotting in the dungeon or bleeding on the ground if the gallows are out of the question.
Now the WKBW article is pulled and they're only reporting that two troopers have been shot...

AP article from 4:23 AM:
FREDONIA, N.Y. (AP) - Two New York state troopers were in critical condition Friday after being shot with what investigators believe was a high-powered rifle fired by an escaped convict.
Joseph Longobardo, 32, and Donald Baker Jr., 38, were shot Thursday evening in Chautauqua County in western New York, State Police Superintendent Wayne Bennett said. Escaped convict Ralph "Bucky" Phillips is the prime suspect in the shootings, he said.
"It's clear to me the troopers were ambushed," Bennett said.
One trooper was shot in the back with a bullet that pierced his bullet-resistant vest and exited through his abdomen, Bennett said. The other was shot in the thigh and suffered massive blood loss due to a severed artery, he said.
Neither trooper saw Phillips before they were shot.
Bennett, who flew from Albany to the state police barracks in Fredonia late Thursday, ordered 75 additional troopers to help with the manhunt for Phillips around western New York.
Phillips, 44, escaped on April 2 from the Erie County jail, where he was sent for violating parole on a burglary conviction, police said.
He is wanted in the June 10 shooting of a state trooper near Elmira. Trooper Sean Brown survived after being shot in the abdomen as he approached a stolen car believed to be driven by Phillips.
Since his escape, Phillips has evaded police and helped himself to food, clothes and guns from unattended homes and hunting cabins in western New York.
He is believed to have stolen about 15 cars since his escape, police said.
Last weekend, Phillips was suspected of stealing several weapons from a gun shop and a nearby car, state police said.
Police believe Phillips has been traveling back and forth between Philadelphia and New York state, Bennett said.
A $50,000 reward offered for information leading to Phillips' arrest and conviction has so far not stopped friends and family members from helping him avoid capture, police said.
Absolutely untrue.
This happened down in the Southern Tier and also they arrested some folks in Niagara County as well. One wonders if there will be any leniency by the Judge, now with two more Troopers shot.
I didn't make the "small, rural communities" remark.
"Put a 250,000 $ bounty on his head and it wouldn't take more than a month."
You got that right!
How so?
No problem. Welcome to Free Republic.
I can't post the Buffalo News articles, but I can refer you an article dated of June 26, 2006, titled "Trooper, dragged by ATV, kills driver Police deny suspect mistaken for fugitive".
The State Police maintain that this was a routine traffic stop, and it's my understanding that the man's face was visible, which would have been a good indication that it was not Phillips.
There is also an article on July 11, 2006 titled "Family of slain ATV driver seeks answers State Police may face lawsuit for Chautauqua man's shooting death".
Sorry for being a little short on my first post - I'm more than a bit upset that Phillips is still on the loose - and that people helped him elude capture.
Western NY and LEO ping...
Disclaimer: Get Bucky. He's giving us a bad name.
reward up to $225K now.
report says "the officers were watching his ex-girlfriends house". so, that means she was hiding him?
CNN with an in depth report on this now. wow, some of the locals they are interviewing there are really kooks. I mean, I heard some of them were upset about the sustained use of roadblocks in the area. But some of these people actually appear to be siding with Bucky.
Some of the folks in that area are nuts. There was one quoted in the local paper saying that the State Police brought this on themselves when they took his child away from his ex?-girlfriend.
{Prayers up for the State Troopers and Loved ones}
The nickname "bucky"???
Can someone clue me in???
Can we not just call this murderous criminal by his birth name?
Bucky is just to "cutesy" sounding for a killer.
Free Bucky. Sound like a bad B movie for a criminal with fans.
.
Thanks
Could he be using alias names?
Bucky
D....
F....
L....
M....
P....
S....
Y....
THe guy looks creepy in the pics just posted.
The National news show a pic of a guy that resembles a freind possibly of Larry the Cable Guy.
Hope he is serving life time in a dark dank place asap.
No prob. Like I said ealier if they bump the reward to a quarter mil (which they did) It shouldn't take too long for some one to rat him out...that is unless he already found a permanent hidey-hole, then he might dissappear till the middle of winter when he runs out of supplies. Just guesses all, take em for what the're worth.
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