http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetimes-tribune/obituary.aspx?n=bryon-k-dickson&pid=172464587
Posted on 09/13/2014 1:21:33 PM PDT by lightman
Y Meg Wagner NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Saturday, September 13, 2014, 8:31 AM Updated: Saturday, September 13, 2014, 4:05 PM
The Pennsylvania trooper killed in a Friday night police barracks shooting was a hardworking, “stand-up guy,” his friends say.
Now, Bryon Dickson’s heartbroken friends and family will lay him to rest.
The father-of-two was the only officer killed when a gunman "ambushed" police barracks in Blooming Grove Township during a trooper shift-change, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said at a Saturday press conference. A second trooper, Alex Douglass, was also injured.
And the killer could still be on the loose. An overnight manhunt lead to the questioning of a person of interest — but no suspects.
Gov. Tom Corbett wanted to visit the area, but officials warned him to stay away when a “a very dangerous, armed criminal” has not been caught, the Times-Tribune reported.
Still, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan assured residents the shooter is not believed to be dangerous to the public.
Dickson, a 2007 police academy graduate, worked near Philadelphia for most of his career, but moved to the Northeast Pennsylvania barracks a few months ago to be closer to his family, friends told the Times-Tribune. AP Photo/Scranton Times & Tribune, Butch Comegys State police Commissioner Frank Noonan said an overnight shooting at a Pennsylvania police barracks was likely an attack on the state force. WNEP The gunman fled after he killed a state trooper. WNEP At least one more trooper was injured in the late night shooting. Previous Next
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"He was very, very work oriented," Melissa Contorno, a friend of the Dickson family, said. "He was all about it. He was a stand-up guy.”
He leaves behind a wife and two sons: a kindergartener and a second-grader.
“This is a traumatic event. It has touched us to the core that such an event can happen,” Noonan said.
The gunman escaped after the 11 p.m. shooting, and law enforcement officials from New York and New Jersey descended on northeastern Pennsylvania to help with the search.
On Saturday morning, police named a person of interest and detained him for questioning.
He is not in custody and has not been charged with any crimes, Trooper Connie Devens, spokeswoman for Troop R in Dunmore, told the newspaper.
Corbett ordered flags in the area to be flown at half-staff in Dickson’s honor, WNEP reported.
“Every attack on an officer of the law is an attack on our state, our country and civilized society,” he said in a statement.
Douglass, the injured trooper was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, police said.
Law enforcement officials from New York and New Jersey descended on northeastern Pennsylvania early Saturday to help with the search.
Blooming Grove Township is about 35 miles east of Scranton.
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It’s about 1/2 hour NW from Promised Land SP. We lived in Pt Jervis, just across the NY state line about 35 miles east. Also there’s some property owned by moslems in Hankins, NY, just across the Delaware Riv that’s suspected of suspected of harboring, if not training those on the FBI’s terrorist watch list. Haven’t heard anything about that angle, yet.
Thank you,
Thank you.
Yes sir ...I felt uncomfortable typing my post. But as I grow older (now 52) I see to much fiscal abuse and unprofessionalism by the police forces that we have. By no means am I anti-police , it is a job I would not do as I would not have the self restraint that the majority of the police agencies show. With that being stated I personally have (in the past)dealt with the legal system and see it as more of a an open ended revenue stream and in my area of the country the illegal aliens who commit blatant vicious crimes are not prosecuted with the same tenacity as a citizen who has everything to lose....guess there is no profit in dealing with someone who can apparently just up and leave the area and return at a later date unscathed by a court order initiated by the initial arrest. I see it as a catch 22 ...ones wallet can be drained easily when dealing with the police and I am far from rich....a quagmire for sure but we need them for our society to function ...still I hope the slain officers family endures and even if the man was not on the up and up I doubt it will make the news. I hate thinking this way but the shooting seems well thought out and not a knee jerk reaction to an isolated incident.
A 50K reward has been offered for arrest of the perpetrator. In that story, this was written:
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said the "cowardly attack" was directed at state police and a "very dangerous, armed criminal" eluded quick capture.
"Our troopers were ... shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves," Noonan told reporters Saturday afternoon. "It has touched us to the core that such a thing could happen."
Shot without warning, huh? Didn't have a chance to defend themselves? Really? Stop and think long and hard about those two statements. Neither one should have ever been made publicly. Law enforcement ROUTINELY shoots without warning when faced with a formidable opponent (via sniper ) and certainly doesn't give the opposition a chance to shoot back unless it cannot be helped or they missed the first time. When trying to kill someone, it is not healthy to warn them (at all in any form or fashion, either verbally or non-verbally) nor give them chance to defend themselves. I guess the powers that be want the public to believe all of the tripe in movies. We have become a nation of stupid people.
If someone intends to kill troopers, you certainly don't warn them and then you shoot to kill before they can defend themselves. Frank, shut up. If you keep talking, people are going to have sympathy for this obviously military/police-trained perpetrator.
Many of those who are committing crimes have no regard for who police are and don't care one iota if they are caught doing something illegal. They know they can tie up their cases in the courts indefinitely....and the state will pay for their defense.
I'm truly saddened that this happened, the area was once one you could walk the streets at night and have no concerns....impossible now to be out after dark and daylight isn't deterring many criminal minds there anymore.
That's sooo sad....unfortunately many of the criminals today walk away from their responsibilities as fathers and care less if their actions rob someone else’s children of a father.
In fact our society really doesn't protect children any more to speak of. As a result they are seen as dispensable without a blink! May God bring these two youngsters a good man who will love and nurture them as the mothers grief fades in the years ahead.
The other act of stupidity was during the Rendell administration when the new station was built surrounded by woods.
It was PA state game lands so real estate cost = $0.00.
Talk about providing excellent cover for a sniper!
I was a cop. I quit after 2 years. That was 30 years ago. I saw what happened behind the scenes and could not continue to be a part of the corruption. I can only imagine what goes on today.
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