Posted on 06/08/2009 7:11:33 PM PDT by Born Conservative
COOLBAUGH TWP. - The high-speed chase raced through heavy traffic and busy intersections for nearly 40 minutes Sunday night, with no signs of stopping.
Trooper Joshua Miller, 34, of Pittston Twp., made a split-second decision to ram the back of Daniel Autenrieth's fleeing Honda Civic, sending the car spinning into a guard rail. There, other police cars surrounded it while Trooper Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo ran to the driver's side door to confront the 31-year-old Northampton County man.
The troopers were just inches away when the bullets began flying, though investigators are not yet sure who fired first.
Trooper Miller was hit twice, once in the upper chest and once in the thigh. He was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, where he was pronounced dead 9:30 p.m. Sunday, said Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim. Mr. Grim said an autopsy performed Monday found the cause of death was a single gunshot wound.
Trooper Lombardo, 35, of Pittston, was shot once in the left shoulder. He was treated and released from Community Medical Center Monday, investigators said.
The troopers shot Mr. Autenrieth eight times, according to Lt. Robert Bartal, crime section commander for state police's Troop N. Mr. Autenrieth was pronounced dead at the scene.
The chase began in Northampton County, after Mr. Autenrieth kidnapped his 9-year-old son at gunpoint. During the shootout, Trooper John Osterhout and Cpl. Fred Lahovski of Tatamy Borough Police Department were able to pull Mr. Autenrieth's son from the vehicle without injury, state police said.
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski said police are still attempting to determine whether the troopers knew Mr. Autenrieth was armed.
"We'll never know for sure what Trooper Miller saw," Commissioner Pawlowski said. "He was the first one there. I have to think he saw the gun."
Trooper Miller joined the force in 2002. His commander, state police Capt. James Murtin, said his actions Sunday night were in line with the kind of work he was known for.
"There are not enough good things to say about him," Capt. Murtin said. "He was one of our shining stars."
Lt. Bartal also praised Trooper Miller, calling him "a hero who laid down his life rather than swerve from his duty."
The chase started at about 7:45 p.m. Sunday, when Nazareth Borough police responded to a protection-from-abuse violation involving a weapon in the Northampton County community, state police said.
Mr. Autenrieth began arguing with his wife, Susan Autenrieth, after dropping his three children off Sunday night, investigators said. After threatening her with a gun, he took his 9-year-old and fled the scene.
Mr. and Mrs. Autenrieth have been in a custody battle since at least Nov. 19, 2007, when Mrs. Autenrieth filed for a protection-from-abuse order. The order gave her full custody of their 9-year-old son and 3-year-old and 5-year-old daughters until June 1, 2008.
On April 30, Mr. Autenrieth filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Mrs. Autenrieth and won full custody, filings at the Northampton County Protection From Abuse Office show. She came back with her own filing four days later and regained custody on May 4.
On May 18, county court settled the matter, leaving Mrs. Autenrieth with full custody and a recommendation that the two go to custody court to hammer out visitation rights for Mr. Autenrieth.
The protection-from-abuse order in place prohibited Mr. Autenrieth from owning or possessing a gun. Investigators searched his home Monday for clues as to how he obtained the gun, which was not registered to him, and what sparked the incident that led to the fatal shooting.
Troopers remained on the scene of the shooting for most of the day Monday and are reviewing footage captured by cameras mounted in several police cruisers involved in the chase to try to piece together exactly what happened.
Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis was at the scene just after the shooting.
"It was surreal," Chief Lewis said. "We're all very close to the troopers at Swiftwater. Seeing two of my friends hurt, it was very painful."
Since the formation of the Pennsylvania State Police in 1905, 92 troopers have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Trooper Miller's death is the first for the department since Dec. 12, 2005, when Cpl. Joseph R. Pokorny, 45, died following a shooting in Allegheny County, said Jack Lewis, state police spokesman.
News of Trooper Miller's death rocked the community Monday. Mary Peck, of Mount Pocono, stopped by the state police barracks at Swiftwater to lay a bouquet of sunflowers in front of the flags.
"I just want the officers to know the community supports them 100 percent," she said. "They go out every day and put their lives on the line."
Trooper Miller's body was returned to Pittston on Monday afternoon, transported in a white van, which followed a procession of dozens of state police cars and motorcycles as a helicopter flew overhead. The procession first stopped at the State Police Barracks in Swiftwater, Monroe County. More than a dozen troopers and staffers there lined state Route 611 to watch the procession pass.
The procession also drove past Trooper Miller's home on Suscon Road in Pittston Twp. before stopping at the Charles J. Graziano Funeral Home on the Pittston Bypass, where it was greeted by Trooper Miller's family and friends.
At the direction of Gov. Ed Rendell, all Pennsylvania flags on state facilities and throughout the commonwealth should be lowered to half staff in memory of Trooper Miller. Flags should remain at half staff through Friday.
Trooper Miller would have been 35 years old this Saturday. He graduated from the State Police Academy in April 2003 and was assigned to Troop M, Bethlehem, Northampton County. He later transferred to Troop N, Swiftwater. He is survived by his wife, Angela B. Miller, and three children. Mrs. Miller is a police communications operator at Troop P in Wyoming.
Trooper Lombardo is the son of Dr. John Lombardo, a well-known Pittston doctor. He is the brother of former Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo. Another brother, John, and another firefighter died fighting a fire on Main Street in 1993. A downtown memorial marks their tragic deaths.
MEGAN REITER, staff writer, contributed to this report.
Ping
This one is tragic all the way around.
Trooper Joshua Miller.
Fidelis ad mortem
I'm puzzled by this statement from the Police Commissioner. It's clear from the story that the initial contact to police would have included the information that the father who abducted the boy was armed. If that information wasn't communicated to the officers who were dispatched to chase the abductor's vehicle, then somebody dropped the ball in a huge way, probably costing this officer his life.
If you read some of the comments at the link, you’ll see mention of an incident 11 days ago in Scranton, when a mentally ill woman who used to be in the Air Force, was shot and killed by 4 local police officers. There have been NO details, and many in the area believe there is a cover up.
My father in law is a retired State Trooper. They really do a very dangerous job. Any routine traffic stop could result in a dangerous situation like this one. My father in law made it to retirement without a shooting incident. The Troopers I know well, 3 who are all retired, are salt of the earth guys. Hearts of gold all of ‘em.
Rest in Peace Trooper Miller. He was one of the good guys.
Just emailed an old Marine buddy who is a PA State Trooper to tell him I’m praying for him.
The whole business is very sad. I can’t help wondering whether there couldn’t have been some other way to handle it, that didn’t take such a huge risk of killing the kid, and ended up with a dead police officer and a dead father.
The court gave custody to the mother, then the father, then the mother. Obviously this must have been a real tangle.
Maybe it was the only thing to do, but sad that it ended as it did.
RIP.
"I am a Pennsylvania State Trooper, A Soldier of the Law. To me is entrusted the Honor of the Force. I must serve honestly, faithfully, and, if need be, lay down my life as others have done before me, rather than swerve from the path of duty. It is my duty to obey the law and enforce it without any consideration of class, color, creed, or condition. It is also my duty to be of service to anyone who may be in danger or distress, and at all times so conduct myself that the Honor of the Force may be upheld."
Thanks for posting the Call to Honor. I hesitate to tell my father in law of this sad loss of a Trooper. He probably has heard already from his fellow Troopers.
ping
Very sad story but I am confused about something - the protective order of abuse. She claimed he was abusive, then he claimed she was, then she claimed he was..... does that sound right? Does the court often switch sides like that so quickly?
There was a case in Delaware County where that happened. I think the problem comes down to competency among judges.
I am sorry I haven’t been paying attention to the news recently. I was wondering why the flags were at half staff around here.
Oh, you know, eating donuts and setting up speed traps gets old.
Right. Perhaps the cops didn't know this when they decided to chase him down. My Monday Quarterback thought: this isn't like an abduction by a stranger. It was the kids dad...they knew how to get him. Just go after him later...rather than go speeding around town and ramming him.
Well, I’m not saying there were any easy choices. And I’m NOT blaming the cop who was killed. He was following orders and doing his job.
There does seem to have been some confusion at headquarters. They knew the father had a weapon, but evidently they didn’t tell the cops they sent after him about it.
I can’t say they did the wrong thing; I just feel sorry that things didn’t turn out differently. The father was crazy enough to take a gun, grab his kid, and shoot a cop, but that was after he was backed into a corner. What about the mother? Was she possibly the real source of the trouble between them? Why did the judge take custody from her at one point, which is unusual now, when divorce judges usually favor the mother? We aren’t told enough to know, but it’s too bad that two people are dead, and the child MAY have been left with nothing but a crazy mother.
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