Ind. Trooper Shot, Killed on Highway
Published: 7/6/07, 3:45 AM EDT

WABASH, Ind. (AP) - A state trooper who had stopped to help who he thought was a stranded motorist was shot and killed Thursday by the man, who then reloaded the shotgun and killed himself, state police said.

Master Trooper David Rich was shot in the chest by Joseph M. Vultaggio Jr., 21, of Gaylord, Mich., on U.S. 24 in northern Indiana, state police Sgt. Tony Slocum said.

Is this a case of taking revenge for some perceived past crime against him or just a random act of terror?? Will likely never know. I don't understand someone that has to kill someone else before they take their own life, and the trooper was stopping to help someone he thought needed help.

My heart and prayers go out to the trooper's family, how awful for them.

yeah most of the IN troopers I have met are pretty good guys.

Was there a point Fanta? or just reporting 'the news'?

the state troopers in michigan are so corrupt that he probably thought they all are that way.... after all, who do uyou callwhen the cops are the criminals?

the attorney general

the fbi

and now i got to go this thread has me concerned for my son now

Yes, I believe the police are criminals in many places around this country, it is sad but that is how I see it. They are just following the example of their leaders. I also heard it said the other way ,too: A government is no better than the people! If the people are corrupt, what can you expect to get?

I dunno.... alot of the cops here are pretty decent folks. I have made 2 very decent friends who are both women and both are sheriff's deputies. I believe or HOPE to believe most people who take on this very THANKLESS job are putting their lives on the lines every time they leave their homes, their wives/hubbys and kids. Its a warzone out there thanks to the gangbangers, violence, drugs, etc.
I salute EVERY SINGLE person out here in law enforcement.

sorry to bust your innocent ideal about the police, but i feel due to my expierence and that of others that i dont have the luxury to assume that the particular cop i am talking to at any given time is one of the good ones. some are but a lot will frame you for sport if they think you wont be able to fight back. respect has to be earned and from my chair they are just not to be trusted. as for the FBI, ect, FOR A REMEDY AGAINST BAD COPS, been there, tried that, dont work. THIER ALL IN BED TOGETHER.

Any time I hear people starting in about how "All the cops I know are crooked." I immediately think two things. 1) They don't know any personally or the ones they do know they knew twenty years ago and they ASSUME they know what they're like today and 2) they're full of $hit. While I can't defend every cop in the USA I'll be willing to put money down that 99.99% of them are honest, hard-working individuals who're doing a job that they know makes people look at them as an "enemy" when in fact they are protectors. These men and women are only enforcing the laws that we (the people) put in place and to say that because of the actions of one or two cops "all" are corrupt is as stupid as saying that because one black man commits a crime that they must all be criminals.

Hearing people bash cops pushes one of the few "buttons" I have since so many of my family and friends are in law enforcement- including a grandfather (Illinois State Trooper) that I never got to meet because of an incident very much like the one decribed above.

your trying to defend the undefendable. A false accusation cost me my job, a farm and the wife and 3 kids and i almost went to prison over it. if i wouldent have been able to come up with 50,000 for a top drawer attorney, i would be there now. i unfortantanly am not the exception, but the norm around here, and there is simply no recourse against them whatsoever. i can only hope that in other areas of the country this is not so.
What do you think really started the riots in los angeles? The press likes to paint it as a racial issue, but the truth is that the people just got tired of oppressive police and went on a three day nut.

So, Rambone, are you saying the trooper got his "come-uppins'"??

what goes around comes around..... we will never know the real details....


if this action makes law enforcement a little less full of themselves and have a little more respect and healthy fear of what their authority represents, we could have a better way of living.

i am pretty sure he musta had it coming....but that's just my intuition...

i have personally been mishandled by police who said "hey honey it's my word against your's wanna see who wins???"
well after a lot of beef and money and time spent....guess who won?? and guess who is still unemployed!!??

i would never call a police man if i was in trouble...i'd call a friend.

Fanta
That is sad. I really do not see how anyone could take a life except maybe in an instant rage for family.

derfw3

laws that (we the people) put in place. I do not know of a single law i have voted for. Our congressmen all they do is make laws to take away our rights. We the people went away along time ago... Miles

We have too many Indiana cops here shot to death or seriously injured. It's just so sad.

rambill why didn't you sue for malicious prosecution

or false arrest

or some similar action

Miles, who elects those same congressmen or senators? I do or you do (assuming you vote, but since only 30% of Americans vote that's a poor assumption) we elect them to pass laws according to what the majority wants. If you don't vote I don't want to listen to your whining, and if you are one of the numbnuts who parade around saying "Our votes don't count, so I don't bother voting." I REALLY don't want to listen to you.

Remember folks, if you don't participate you have no one to blame but yourself.

adj4u my olfactory senses detect the presence of male bovine waste in the case of rambill and his rant otherwise it would have been HUGE news and we wouldn't even have to question him for details (which to this point have been vague). To his way of thinking we should dismantle to entire law enforcement community since it obviously doesn't work *rolls eyes*. Hey, while we're at it we should just do away with the fire departments to because they can't save every life at every fire or the DOT for individual states since they can't have the roads clear in winter every second of every day. One last thing, the word is indefensible not "undefendable". I won't even comment on the ridiculous L.A. riots statement... whoops too late.

derf, frankly, you dont have a clue what your talking about. i have a rock solid case against 3 michigan police state storm troopers, a judge and the county persecuter for cooercing witnesses, falsifing a police report, and a lot of other similar stuff. problem is..... try to find an attorney who will go against thier own bread and butter system. i tried for years, using every avenue thier is but it was always a dead end. if i were a minority it would be a different story by the way. there is just no recourse against these people. im not against law enforcement,but ibelieve they should be accountable for thier actions like everyone else.
i feel at this time i dont have the luxury of assuming that whatever cop i might have to deal with is a good one.
i have to protect myself from these armed and dangerous people which from personal expierence i know are capable of great atrocities. respect doesent come with the uniform, it has to be earned and from my chair i just dont see it. I know there are plenty of good honest people in law enforcement but i dont know which ones they are. i also know a lot of ex police who got out, according to them because they could not deal with the corruption. are they law enforcement officers? they used to be peace officers if you remember.

ridiculus la riot statement? i was there were you?