CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP – Pennsylvania State Police in Cranberry Township, Venango County, reported that Trooper Paul G. Richey, 40, who was a 16-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, died on Jan. 13 as the result of a gunshot wound he received during an incident.
Richey was assigned to the Patrol Unit at Troop E, Franklin.
Richey and Trooper Jason Whitman responded to a call at 11:34 a.m. regarding a domestic dispute at the 100 block of Bredinsburg Road. The troopers arrived at 11:45 a.m. and after getting out of their vehicles, Richey was hit with a shot that was fired from the residence. Additional troopers responded and Richey was taken from the scene.
A State Police Special Emergency Response Team is on the scene and the incident remains open.
“Trooper Richey sacrificed his life rather than swerve from the path of duty,” said the State Police Commissioner, Frank Pawlowski. “We will not forget his service or his sacrifice.”
Richey is the 93rd member of the department to die in the line duty since the establishment of the state police in 1905. His death came slightly more than seven months after the shooting of Trooper Joshua D. Miller of Troop N in Swiftwater, who was killed during the rescue of a kidnapped child on June 7, 2009, in Monroe County.
Richey is survived by his widow, Camie; a son, Connor, 9; and a daughter, Catherine, 6.