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New York State Police Troopers, a place on a long line of heroes
Thus far in 2006, the New York State Police has lost two from its ranks in-the-line-of-duty, both shot to death. One other fought for his life for several weeks and at this writing appears to have turned the corner. Yet a fourth lucked out and recovered quickly following abdominal surgery. These men were shot by public enemies, one already convicted, another awaiting trial. These enemies of the people, though, are not the story. The story rests with the brave men and women who dare to protect us every day here at home, around the clock. They serve, they sacrifice, and some of them die, in the line of duty, covered in honor and courage. October 7, 2006 Many Americans probably saw on TV that Pennsylvania State Police caught fugitive Ralph "Bucky" Phillips on the early evening of September 9, 2006 in a cornfield near Akeley, Pennsylvania in Warren County. He was on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list. He is a career thief, broke out of the Alden County Correctional Facility in Western New York in April, a few days before his parole, and had been on the run since. He allegedly subsequently shot three New York State Police (NYSP) Troopers, killing one, seriously wounding the other two.
The Gray Rider monument honors all men and women who have worn the uniform of the New York State Police. It stands in front of the NYSP Academy, where all troopers begin their careers. in lasting tribute to their honorable service, professionalism, courage, loyalty and sacrifice. It is decorated with bronze plaques stating: "Honor, Integrity, Courage and Tradition." Presented by the New York State Division of State Police. Most Americans probably do not know much about the three troopers he allegedly shot. They were Trooper Sean M. Brown, 30, Troop E, Montour Falls Barracks, "The Finger Lakes Troop;" Trooper Donald H. Baker, 38, Troop G, Wilton Barracks; and Trooper Joseph A. Longobardo, 32, also of Troop G, Wilton Barracks. Trooper Longobardo died of his wounds. Baker spent weeks in a medically induced coma and just recently showed signs of improvement. Brown underwent surgery and has just returned to work. We want to introduce you to these men, the circumstances surrounding their being attacked, and use this as a chance to acquaint you a little with the New York State Police (NYSP). If you walk away with remembering anything, it might be that when a police officer approaches a situation, there is no such thing as "routine." Violent, life threatening danger can erupt without warning.
Trooper Sean M. Brown was assigned to Troop E at the Montour Falls Barracks. Troop E is headquartered in Canandaigua in Ontario County. It serves 10 counties in west central upstate New York. The word "upstate" usually describes everything north of the New York City metro area. Lake Ontario is on the north and Pennsylvania on the south of Troop E's area of responsibility (AOR). It is an agricultural and tourist area, with lots of rolling hills. There are 18,457 miles of rural and interstate roads to patrol. The Montour Falls Barracks is in E4 or Zone 4. It is one of four troop barracks in this zone.
Sally Kerr, a retired nurse, and her husband, while driving by, found Sperr half in his car and half out, apparently trying to reach for his radio. Mrs. Kerr said he was dead when she got there. Anthony Horton of Elmira, NY was found guilty on nine counts of murdering Trooper Sperr.
This map will help orient you to the AOR where Trooper Sean Brown was working when he was shot. He stages out of the Montour Falls Barracks highlighted by the star. It is at the south end of Seneca Lakes, one of the Finger Lakes in southern "upstate" New York. Sean Brown was shot on June 10, 2006 in the town of Veteran, NY, Chemung County, about 70 miles south of Syracuse, and southeast of Watkins Glen, southwest of Ithaca. Brown and his partner Trooper Donald Will were on patrol along Route 13 and pulled over a dark green Ford Mustang at 1 a.m., roughly in the spot marked by the red dot. The Mustang matched the description of a stolen car.
Post-shooting scene, Rt 13, Veteran, NY, June 10, 2006. Excerpted from a video presented by News 10, Syracuse, NY. Oddly, the driver pulled over before the troopers activated their emergency lights. The two troopers approached the car, Brown the driver's side, Will the passenger side. Then, as Brown got fairly close to the driver's door, the driver pulled out a gun and fired. The driver then sped away. The driver later abandoned the car and stole another.
Abandoned Mustang, parked behind a white house. The car had been stolen. Excerpted from a video presented by News 10, Syracuse, NY. Brown was hit in the abdomen, apparently more toward the side since his bullet proof vest did not protect the area of entry.
Aerial view of St. Joseph's Hospital, Elmira, NY. Presented by the hospital. Trooper Will put Brown in the patrol car, and took him to St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira. Brown underwent emergency surgery that same day. Doctors recovered the bullet, fired from a .38 caliber. By the next day, he was declared in fair condition, and was released after four days. He returned to work on August 2, 2006, did some desk work, and then went out on patrol like the dedicated trooper he is. Brown has been described as an outstanding police officer, aggressive, and having great all-around instincts. He is married with two children. To our knowledge, there is no photo of Trooper Brown available to the public. That's too bad. We'd like you to see this brave police officer who served his community so well. That said, we're sure he's a sharp lookin' dude. While Phillips had escaped from jail on April 2, and people were searching for him, the Brown shooting put Phillips higher on the list of fugitives that must be captured. He emerged as the suspect in the Brown attack. The gun used to shoot Brown was recovered in late June after the police chased Phillips; it matched the weapon used to shoot Brown and had Phillips' prints on it. As a result, the pace of the search for Phillips accelerated. By July 13, the State Police doubled the reward for Phillips. Sightings were reported in early August, and on August 20 and 24, a total of six people were arrested including Phillips' adult daughter and ex-girlfriend. They were charged with protecting Phillips. Troopers Donald Baker, Jr. and Joseph Longobardo from G Troop's Wilton Barracks were directed to participate as part of the State Police Mobile Response Team (MRT) which was organized to track down and capture Phillips.
G Troop is headquartered in Loudonville in Albany, and covers east-central upstate New York, which hosts the main corridors from New York City to the Adirondack Mountains and Montreal, Canada to the north, and to Buffalo to the far west of the state. The Wilton Barracks is in Zone G-2. Baker and Longobardo were assigned to MRT operations in western New York. They were told to stake out and surveil the the home of Phillips' former girlfriend in the area of Pomfret in New York's Chautauqua County. They apparently took up positions in a wooded area near her home. They were ambushed by a gunman from the woods behind the former girl-friend's log cabin and shot with a high powered rifle, believed to be a .308. The ambush appeared to be a surprise, a sniper-styled attack. There had been many reports that Phillips had been receiving aid and comfort from friends and family in the area. Baker was shot in the back, and the bullet made its way through his bullet-proof vest and exited through the abdomen, while Longobardo was shot in the leg, severing an artery. Baker was taken to Hamot Hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania while Longobardo was taken to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. Both men arrived in extremely critical condition. Longobardo died on September 3. Phillips was arrested in Pennsylvania after a massive manhunt. The weapon used against the two troopers was found in the woods of northern Chautauqua County and has been through ballistics testing. No results are yet available to the public. Phillips has reportedly confessed to the two shootings.
Baker was placed into a medically induced coma through sedation shortly after arriving at the hospital. On September 19 his condition was upgraded from critical to serious but stable, and he was allowed to pull out of this coma on September 21, three weeks after being shot. He opened his eyes and looked around the room, reportedly recognizing his wife, Tracy, and his parents.
Tracy Baker, wife of Trooper Donald Baker. Presented by R News of Rochester, NY. Baker was able to get up and take a brief walk in hospital on October 3, and was more alert, and able to talk. He was also able to sit up, get in and out of bed, and sit in a chair. That said, he remained in the intensive care unit (ICU) and at this writing remains in hospital. His family is hopeful for his full recovery and he is talking about returning to work as a trooper.
Trooper Joseph Longobardo, shown above, was from Ballstan Spa, New York. He was married to Teri with a one-year old child, Louis, and lived in Middle Grove. He served in the Marines as an embassy guard in Uruguay and Pakistan, leaving the Marines at the rank of sergeant.
Longobardo was selected as Troop G-3 Trooper of the Year for 2004. He was a field training officer, a defensive tactics instructor, and always a leader in arrests. In 2006 he was one of four troopers selected for the elite MRT, and he too completed that training. As said previously, Trooper Longobardo was shot in the leg by a high powered rifle, and the shot severed an artery. He underwent surgery to amputate his leg, but died thereafter, on September 3, 2006. On September 11, 2006, thousands of police officers filed onto Lake Avenue outside St. Clement's RC Church in Saratoga Springs to salute Troop Longobardo, and they then went to the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery where he was buried. The Glens Falls Post-Star has a moving video of the proceedings, and it's without any narration, enabling you to listen to the roar of police motorcycles, the tap of honor guard cleats, and bagpipes and drums in the background. We urge you to view it. Bring a handkerchief. You'll grieve and your spine will at the same time tingle with pride for those who serve and sacrifice, and for those who take time to recognize that in a first-class way. Here are a few photo grabs from this video:
Longobardo's friend and colleague, Trooper Heath McCrindle gave the eulogy and said this:
McCrindle would add:
During the period September 2005-2006, seven NY State troopers have been shot in the line-of-duty, two fatally, the two we have briefly described. The NYSP was founded in 1917. The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association (PBA) describes the duties of these troopers like this:
A lady is said to have attended the funeral for Trooper Longobardo with a sign that said this:
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Opening photo credit: With the State of New York Police Officers Memorial in the background, a NYSP color guard presides at the annual Remembrance Ceremony for fallen police officers, May 9, 2005. Photo credit: Lester Millman. Presented by New York State Police Annual Report 2005. We honor service and sacrifice. Please click the "Donate" button and contribute $20 or more to help keep this station alive. Thanks. |
The NYSP is organized into a headquarters in the state capital, Albany, with 11 troops located around the state, each of which is divided into smaller components.
Earlier in March, just three months before Brown was shot, Trooper Andrew J. "A-J" Sperr (shown here) of E Troop was shot and killed by bandits fleeing a bank robbery in Big Falls, near Elmira. Sperr stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. As he approached the vehicle, two suspects inside opened fire hitting him several times. Despite being mortally wounded, he returned fire and hit two of them. It turns out they had just robbed a bank. It is believed that Sperr did not know that when he approached the car. The bandits left Sperr lying on the side of a road. Two of the three bandits were captured with bullet wounds the next day, and a third accomplice later surrendered.
Trooper Baker is from Clifton Park, New York. He wife's name is Tracy. He is a graduate of Shenendehowa High School and a 1998 graduate of the State Police Academy. He is also a certified emergency medical technician and has completed four years of nursing school. He further completed MRT training.
He later joined the Air National Guard, serving as a security policeman with the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton AFB, Scotia. He held the rank of master sergeant. He is a 1992 graduate of Amsterdam High School and a 1998 graduate of the New York State Police Academy.
