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Published in the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader - January 17, 2010
June 7 last year was a Sunday, but Joshua Miller had to work. Not that he minded. Miller, 34, loved being a Pennsylvania State Trooper. He car-pooled with his buddy and fellow Trooper Robert Lombardo to the Swiftwater Barracks where they were stationed.
Trooper Miller’s wife Angie remembers the day as routine in their Suscon neighborhood. “Robbie picked him up that day. My sister and brother-in-law were here. We were opening the pool that afternoon. It was a normal day. He gave me a hug and kiss before he left not even knowing I wouldn’t see him again. We spoke later on the phone and again everything seemed normal.”
But for Angie and her daughters and Trooper Lombardo, and to a degree for everybody in Greater Pittston, life would never be normal again.
Later that routine Sunday Trooper Lombardo was wounded and Trooper Miller was killed and in a gunfight while rescuing a nine-year-old boy.
By giving his own life to rescue that young boy, Trooper Miller also rescued us. He rescued us from corruption and from complacency.
By giving his own life to rescue that young boy, Trooper Miller elevated the status of police officers and emergency workers whom we took for granted.
By giving his own life to rescue that young boy, Trooper Miller has been named the 10th Sunday Dispatch Greater Pittston Person of the Year.
Trooper Miller, a Pittston Area Patriot in the graduating class of ’92, was just a week shy of his 35th birthday when he was killed that Sunday night in the gun fight after a 40-mile, high-speed chase after Daniel Autenrieth, who wielded a gun and kidnapped his own 9-year-old son during a custody exchange at the boys home in Nazareth setting off the wild pursuit along Pocono highways and through the streets of Stroudsburg at speeds up to 100 miles-per-hour.
Trooper Lombardo was driving one of the lead cars in the chase. “I saw the kid in car,” he said. “He was belted in the front seat. I saw him crying. I almost had him in Stroudsburg. He sideswiped a couple cars and went down a side street. He was headed for where Josh was.”
The chased ended when Autenrieth crashed his car on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township. Troopers Miller and Lombardo, assessing that the boy was in danger, made the decision to approach the car, a decision some have questioned, but one that Lombardo stands by. “We made the decision because a nine-year-old boy couldn’t. We could have set up a perimeter and waited, but we knew he violated a PFA. We knew he had a gun. I mean who brings a gun to a custody exchange? Who takes kid running though road blocks driving 100 miles an hour smashing police cars?”
As Miller and Lombardo approached the driver side, Autenrieth opened fire. Miller, though fatally wounded, fired back, getting off three shots all of which hit Autenrieth. Lombardo, though wounded, got off five shots and all of his hit Autenrieth who was killed. Meanwhile a third trooper and a local police officer went to the other side of the car and pulled the boy out.
Lombardo – a brother of former Pittston mayor Mike Lombardo, the first Greater Pittston person of the Year – was shot in the left front torso. The bullet entered just outside his bulletproof vest and exited from his back, below his collarbone, just missing vital organs.
That night when Mike Lombardo got the call that his brother had been shot, his first reaction was “Here we go again,” referring to March 15, 1993, when another brother, John, and Lennie Insalaco, volunteer firefighters, were killed fighting a fire on North Main Street in Pittston.
Considering what happened to his brother and to Miller, Trooper Lombardo is not thoroughly convinced people won’t go back to taking police and emergency workers for granted, but he does believe the Dispatch made the right choice for Person of the Year. “Put it this way – life goes on for people, but for friends and family, they think about it everyday. Yes, he’s the most deserving of the award, not only as a state trooper, but as a father. When we drove to work he always talked about wife and kids.”
Josh was the father to three daughters: Justine Miller, 16, Breana Miller, 13, his from a first marriage; and Joslyn Miller, 2, whom he had with his wife Angie.
Angie said being a state cop and a family man consumed nearly all of Josh’s life. “He was an amazing father. For Josh and I, our lives were strictly family lives. You know some guys hang out with their friends or go out for a few drinks after work. That wasn’t Josh. Everything revolved around the children and being together. We were all about enjoying life. We loved mini golfing, going out for dinner, bowling, normal family things that weren’t rarities, that we did all the time. He was there for softball and soccer games and in the middle of the night for the baby.”
Angie and Josh met in 2001 when she was a 911 dispatcher in Wyoming County and Josh was a Tunkhannock police officer. In 2002 when she became a dispatcher for the state police, Josh entered the state police academy. They married in 2005. “We shared everything. There wasn’t much separation. We did everything together.”
Angie agreed that Josh’s death elevated the status of police in people’s minds. “I believe often people have contact with the police in a negative way. What happened to Josh it makes people see the other side of it. They see that police do whatever it takes to make people safe even if it comes to what it has for us. I do feel that with all the bad, the corruption and everything, there are still good people you can trust, people who have other people’s interests in mind. Josh was one of them.”
Trooper Miller’s funeral was unlike anything the area had ever seen. It’s estimated that 2,000 law enforcement officers representing 48 of the 50 states including Alaska came to massive funeral at Pittston Area’s Charley Trippi Stadium, where Miller was eulogized by Gov. Ed Rendell. Several hundred more people lined the route of the procession of 600 cars and 52 motorcycles.
A lot of awards and honors that have come Angie’s way since Josh’s death, including the Medal of Honor, the highest honor that can be given to a Pennsylvania state trooper.
Angie said Josh being named Greater Pittston Person of the Year ranks up there. “I wanted to say thank you so much for honoring my husband as the man of the year. It is really a beautiful thing that you are helping people understand what a wonderful man he was. He has always been our hero. I can say, after seeing the way the community has came together to support our family over these last months, that the good in our little corner of the world outweighs the bad.”
Reception March 21
Trooper Miller will be honored posthumously and Maria Capolarella Montante, recipient of the Joseph Saporito Lifetime of Service Award, will be honored at a reception on Sunday, March 21, at Tribeca Banquet and Convention Center.
Published in the Pocono Record - December 23, 2009
A section of state road in northeastern Pennsylvania has been named in honor of a heroic state trooper who was killed in the line of duty earlier this year.
A bill that named a portion of Route 611 in Monroe County the Trooper Joshua D. Miller Memorial Highway was signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday.
Miller, 34, was slain June 7 after joining other police officers in a 40-mile high-speed chase that began in Northampton County and stretched through the Poconos, ending in a shootout on Route 611 just north of Route 423 in Coolbaugh Township.
The incident began at 7:45 p.m. when Daniel Autenrieth, 31, whose wife had a protection-from-abuse order against him, violated that PFA by threatening her at gunpoint and kidnapping their 9-year-old son from her home in Nazareth.
Police were called and Autenrieth led officers on a wild chase along Route 191, through Stroudsburg and out toward Tobyhanna.
At 8:35 p.m., police managed to stop Autenrieth by hitting his Honda Civic so that it spun around and came to rest with the driver's side against a guardrail along the shoulder of the road. Nine police vehicles boxed him in.
Police were aware that Autenrieth was armed with a 9mm Taurus handgun and had the child with him.
Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo of the Swiftwater barracks, both with their guns drawn, jumped over the guardrail onto the grassy area and approached the driver's side of Autenrieth's car from the rear.
The plan was for Miller and Lombardo to distract Autenrieth while Trooper John Osterhout of the Swiftwater barracks and Tatamy Police Cpl. Fred Lahovski broke the passenger side window and freed the boy.
Miller was ahead of Lombardo and reached Autenrieth first. That's when shots were exchanged as Osterhout and Lahovski pulled the boy from the car.
Autenrieth was hit by eight bullets and died in his car. Miller was struck twice in the upper body. He was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Lombardo was hit once in the arm and was taken to Community Medical Center in Scranton. He was released the next day.
Miller, a highly decorated trooper, is survived by his wife Angela, a state police dispatcher in Luzerne County, and three daughters.
For a complete report on the incident, visit www.PoconoRecord.com/slaintrooper.
Published in the Pocono News - October 6, 2009
TANNERSVILLE - Tammi Robinson of Tobyhanna has been selected to receive the first Trooper Joshua D. Miller #8819 PSP Scholarship established at Northampton Community College by the Tri-State Trooper Fund to honor the memory of Pennsylvania State Trooper Joshua Miller. The scholarship was created to support and encourage Northampton Community College students who choose criminal justice as a career path.
Miller, a Pennsylvania State Police Officer and U.S. Marine veteran, was shot and killed in the line of duty while he and his partner were rescuing a child from a 2009 kidnapping attempt in Monroe County. Miller, a highly decorated Trooper, was widely recognized for his commitment to the community and his dedication to police work.
“My father is a retired police officer,” says scholarship recipient Robinson. “To know that I have been selected for this scholarship in honor of Trooper Miller is very inspiring.”
“Trooper Miller was a hero in every sense of the word: as an officer, a husband, a father and of course as a friend,” says Angela Tullo, Secretary and Treasurer of the Tri-State Trooper Fund. “He is so dearly missed by all that knew him. It is our hope that this scholarship will keep his memory alive in a way that will enable Northampton Community College Criminal Justice students to learn through his example.”
The Tri-State Troopers Fund is a not-for-profit organization which supports the community of law enforcement professionals and their families in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. More information can be found about the Tri-State Troopers Fund at www.troopersfund.org
The Northampton Community College Criminal Justice program provides valuable training and opportunities for students seeking entry-level employment in public service or with a private agency, those already employed in the system who desire further education in order to qualify for professional advancement, and those who intend to pursue baccalaureate studies in criminal justice, criminology or related disciplines at four-year institutions. More information is available at www.northampton.edu.
Published in The Express-Times - September 17, 2009
Moments before Pennsylvania State Police at Swiftwater unveiled a granite monument for Trooper Joshua Miller, Lt. Col. Tedescung Bandy remembered a state police highway patrolman who died 80 years ago near Ohio.
The patrolman, Cpl. Brady C. Paul, was shot to death by two grocery store robbers in Lawrence County, Pa. Paul's dying words, according to Bandy, were "Tell the boys I did my duty."
"It's apparent to me the same could be said of Trooper Miller in his last act," Bandy said Wednesday as troopers, Miller's family and others gathered under dark skies at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks at Swiftwater.
"Trooper Miller," Bandy said, "did his duty."
Moments later, Miller, 34, killed June 7 after a car chase and shootout with a Palmer Township man who fled from Nazareth, received his latest honor.
Since his death, Miller has been honored with a state police Medal of Honor, motorcycle rides, kind words and a Facebook page. State legislators have proposed the stretch of Route 611 where Miller died be renamed for him.
Aside from a funeral that drew more than 1,000 uniformed law enforcement officers to Pittston Area High School's Charley Trippi Stadium, the memorial dedication was perhaps the most powerful honor to date.
Trooper John Osterhout, who rescued a 9-year-old boy from a car as Miller exchanged fire in a point-blank gunbattle, and Trooper Derek Felsman pulled a black drape from a 5-foot-tall monument.
It was emblazoned with an image of Miller published and broadcast many times since the trooper's death. The image shows Miller in full uniform casting the stern stare that characterized his police work but belied the boyishness he was said to have in his personal life.
"He (Miller) said nothing will happen to my brothers on my watch," said Lt. David T. Douglas, station commander at the Swiftwater barracks. "I'm sure his watch is now 24/7."
Angela Miller wore a T-shirt printed with her husband's vow to protect fellow troopers.
With tears in her eyes, she nodded as Capt. James Murtin knelt before her and spoke softly. He presented her with a small replica of the monument.
The Pennsylvania State Police Call of Honor is in part a promise to "lay down my life rather than swerve from a path of duty."
As 75 troopers recited it, Angela Miller dabbed her eyes and a light rain began to fall.
Published in the Pocono Record - September 14, 2009
SWIFTWATER — The Pennsylvania State Police will hold a dedication ceremony on Wednesday for a memorial to trooper Joshua Miller, who was killed on June 7 in a shootout with a kidnapping suspect after a high speed chase through Monroe County.
During a 3 p.m. ceremony at the police barracks in Swiftwater, Miller's service and life will be honored.
Miller, a former U.S. Marine, and fellow Trooper Robert Lombardo were shot by Daniel Autenrieth, 31, of Palmer Township, who had fled from police after taking is 9-year-old son during a custody exchange in Northampton County. Miller and Autenrieth were killed in the shootout.
Published in the Allentown Morning Call - August 7, 2009
Two state lawmakers want to name part of Route 611 in Monroe County in honor of a state trooper who was shot dead on the road while trying to apprehend a man who had kidnapped his son.
Senate Democratic Leader Robert Mellow and Sen. Raphael Musto on Thursday introduced a bill to name Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township the Trooper Joshua D. Miller Memorial Highway.
''We must never forget Trooper Miller's unwavering commitment to the people of Pennsylvania and the sacrifice he made in carrying out his oath to protect and serve the commonwealth,'' Mellow, D-Lackawanna, said in a statement.
Miller, 34, of Pittston Township, Luzerne County, was shot in the throat and leg on June 7 by 31-year-old Daniel Autenrieth of Palmer Township, who had snatched his 9-year-old son at gunpoint from his estranged wife in Nazareth and then led police on a 40-mile chase that ended in a shootout on Route 611.
Autenrieth was also killed, and Trooper Robert Lombardo was wounded. The troopers had approached Autenrieth in his car, while other police officers pulled his son to safety. Investigators say Miller got at least one shot off after being shot in the neck.
''As a Marine and then a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, Trooper Miller set an example of what it means to live a life of service,'' said Musto, D-Luzerne. ''This is just one more way to honor his dedication.''
Published on the KOHM News - August 6, 2009
The portion of Route 611 where state trooper Joshua Miller was shot and killed following a high-speed chase in June may soon be renamed in his honor.
Two northeastern Pa. state legislators have introduced a bill that would designate the stretch of roadway from Tobyhanna to Interstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township the Joshua D. Miller Memorial Highway.
“We must never forget Trooper Miller's unwavering commitment to the people of Pennsylvania and the sacrifice he made in carrying out his oath to protect and serve the Commonwealth,” said Senate Democratic Leader Robert Mellow, who introduced the bill along with Sen. Raphael Musto. “This memorial will serve as a constant reminder of his heroism.”
Miller of Luzerne County was killed on June 7 while attempting to apprehend a kidnapping suspect after a 40-mile chase from Nazareth to Tobyhanna.
“As a Marine and then a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, Trooper Miller set an example of what it means to live a life of service,” Musto said. “He took that mission seriously every day. This is just one more way to honor his dedication.”
Published in the Young Chronicle - July 22, 2009
YATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) – Joshua Miller was a highly committed member of the Pennsylvania state police – a trooper’s trooper obsessed with physical fitness and taking drunken drivers off the road.
But the 34-year-old Marine veteran had another side, his square-jawed intensity betrayed by glints of the mischievous schoolboy he once was. He told tall tales about his prowess as a hunter, ribbed colleagues mercilessly, sponged food. He grinned ear-to-ear whenever he spoke about his three daughters. He was so in love with his wife that he once left her a piece of tape with an imprint of his lips – a “kiss.”
That more intimate side of Miller emerged during his funeral service Friday as hundreds of police officers from 48 states gathered on a football field in northeastern Pennsylvania to mourn and honor the fallen trooper, killed in a shootout Sunday night while helping to rescue a boy who had been kidnapped by his father.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press Friday that surveillance footage from a sporting goods store showed the man’s girlfriend purchasing the handgun in late May. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into how Daniel Autenrieth, 31, got the gun is not complete.
Autenrieth, who was not permitted to have a weapon under the terms of a protection-from-abuse order, was with his girlfriend when she bought the 9 mm handgun, the official said.
After arguing with his estranged wife Sunday night, Autenrieth kidnapped his son at gunpoint and led police on a 40-mile chase into the Pocono Mountains, then opened fire as troopers rushed his car. Autenrieth and Miller died in the gunbattle and another trooper was wounded.
Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, who was hit in the torso, were credited with distracting Autenrieth while other officers whisked the boy to safety. Autenrieth’s son was unhurt.
“On Sunday, June 7, 2009, there would be no compromise of duty,” state police commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said at the funeral service, held on the football field at Pittston Area High School. “Evil was met with bold courage and an unrelenting will to do what must be done.”
Pawlowski posthumously awarded Miller the state police Medal of Honor, giving the medal to his sobbing widow, Angela, a state police communications operator.
The funeral procession was led by a kilt-wearing drum and bagpipe corps, followed by a hearse bearing the emblem of the United States Marine Corps and a riderless horse. The football field was a sea of dress uniforms in various shades of blue, brown, gray and black as officers stood at attention under mostly sunny skies. At least four officers fell ill due to the heat, including a state police lieutenant taken off the football field on a stretcher.
Wyoming County Chief Detective David Ide recounted his friend’s love of hunting – and his penchant for embellishment, like the time Miller claimed to have tracked a bear 30 miles into the woods and then wrestled it to the ground.
“If you would listen to Josh tell a story about his hunting adventures … you would think you were listening to Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone,” quipped Ide, who was chief of the Tunkhannock borough police when Miller joined the force as a rookie cop in 1999. “But Josh would be the first one to tell you that his wife Angie was the better hunter of the two of them.”
An emotional Gov. Ed Rendell said all of Pennsylvania mourned the loss of Miller, the first state police trooper to die in the line of duty since 2005.
“There are 12.4 million of us who share your grief today,” he told Miller’s wife and three daughters, ages 16, 13 and 2. “We grieve because of the tragedy that has befallen you and your extended family. … We grieve for every law enforcement officer in the commonwealth because Trooper Miller’s death is a reminder of the ongoing danger that each and every one of (them) face every day, an unknown danger.”
After the funeral, Miller’s body was taken to Laceyville for a private burial.
Published in the Pocono Record - June 13, 2009
Joshua Miller would have turned 35 today
A sea of police vehicles covered the parking areas and spilled onto the lawns around the 25-acre Pittston Area High School campus in Yatesville on Friday for state Trooper Joshua Miller's funeral.
Miller, who would have turned 35 today, died after the Sunday night shootout with Daniel Autenrieth, 31, of Palmer Township, on Route 611 in Tobyhanna. Autenrieth himself, who had threatened his wife at gunpoint, kidnapped their 9-year-old son from her Nazareth home and led police on a high-speed chase that led to the shootout, was killed.
On Friday, about 2,000 of Miller's brothers and sisters in law enforcement, plus another 1,000 people including family and friends, gathered in Charley Trippi Stadium to honor the trooper who gave his life to help save that of a 9-year-old boy.
Holding U.S. flags, members of area law enforcement and military veterans' motorcycle clubs stood on both sides of the road leading to the high school, welcoming police vehicles passing with flashing lights and sirens off on their way to gather for the funeral. Some of Miller's family drove their own vehicles while the rest rode in the back seats of some of the police vehicles.
On campus, state troopers, police and corrections officers and sheriff's deputies from Monroe County, the rest of Pennsylvania and neighboring states, along with some U.S. Marines, paramedics and off-duty firefighters, formed a mass of mostly blue, brown and gray shirts. They greeted, shook hands and talked with each other, showing somber faces, sad smiles and black bands across their badges in honor of a fallen brother.
In Trippi Stadium, the scoreboard's electronic screen repeatedly displayed the Pennsylvania State Police Oath to Office and the message, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it," as mourners began arriving in the stands, prior to the family and uniformed personnel taking their places on the field.
In the hall outside the high school auditorium was a display table housing items that marked some of the significant milestones in Miller's life — his 1992 diploma from the school, his Marine hat, his state police academy diploma and cadet class photo, the state police Call to Honor and Oath of Office, his Team DUI achievement plaque and medals.
In the cafeteria nearby, members of state police Troop N gathered in preparation for marching out and joining the other law enforcement contingents on the stadium field. Troop N covers northeastern Pennsylvania and includes barracks in Hazleton and Swiftwater, where Miller was stationed for six years.
The mood among troop members was a blend of sadness, pride and the strength of a bond made even closer with the loss of a fellow "soldier for the law."
Nicholas Cortes, one of the many troopers at the Swiftwater barracks who looked up to Miller, recalled seeing him for the first time in a picture, prior to Miller transferring to Swiftwater from the Bethlehem barracks.
"My wife, Linda, showed me an engagement photo from the newspaper of Josh and Angie, his fiancee at the time," Cortes said. "I still remember Linda saying to me, 'He's a trooper? I went to school with him and he was such a troublemaker!'
"Josh's first day on the road, he did a ride-along with me and I quickly learned what type of guy he was," Cortes said. "I told him what my wife had said and, although he was embarrassed, he laughed and agreed he was."
The troopers began commuting to work together and Miller soon met Cortes' wife and son, who was 2 at the time and pronounced Miller's first name "Juice," instead of "Josh." That's how "Juice" became Miller's nickname.
The friendship between the troopers grew deeper. The love and pride Miller felt for his wife and daughters showed, especially when he talked about how they were a family of hunters.
"When Josh found out Angie was pregnant with Jocelyn, their third child, we were at work and he told me I better not arrest anyone because he wanted to get home ASAP and give her the flowers he had gotten for her," Cortes said.
Cortes shared his fondest memory of Miller helping him through the "dreaded" 1.5-mile run, which state police cadets must undergo as part of their physical fitness coordinator certification.
"Although Josh could run laps around me, he ran by my side for the 12 minutes and 48 seconds it took us to complete the run, cheering me on the whole time and motivating me to stay with him like a true Marine would," Cortes said. "Josh was like an angel at my side that would never leave his brother behind. Although I thanked him for that, he had no idea what that meant to me and still means to me."
State troopers are required to fill out a Line of Duty Death form, on which they identify whom they would like to be pallbearers at their funerals should they die in the line of duty.
Just hours before the fatal shootout with Autenrieth, fellow trooper John Osterhout, who was at that scene, sent Cortes and Miller an e-mail after completing his form, designating them as his preferred pallbearers.
"In the e-mail, John told Josh and I we didn't have a choice in the matter," Cortes said. "He went on to say that Josh e-mailed a response to him, telling him I do have a choice because I won't let anything happen to my brothers. Josh was killed later that night. He will forever be viewed by myself, his peers and his family as a hero."
Agreeing was fellow trooper Derek Felsman, who joined the Swiftwater barracks in August 2007 and was mentored by Miller.
"Since my first day on the job, I have tried to emulate everything he did and I'll continue to do that for the rest of my career," Felsman said. "He was there for me on countless incidents. I enjoyed each and every meal shared, carpool and day at the range. The new comfort I take now is knowing he'll be near, regardless of my station assignment or wherever my path in life takes me."
Walking on crutches due to an injury from a recent fire, fellow trooper Shawn Hilbert, also a Stroudsburg volunteer firefighter, said Miller's locker was next to his. Hilbert said Miller kept photos of his family in his locker, so he could see them when starting and ending his shifts. Hilbert said a neighbor contacted him after Sunday night's shootout in Tobyhanna and told him Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo had been shot. Lombardo was injured and survived.
"It's no surprise those two approached that situation the way they did," Hilbert said, referring to Miller's and Lombardo's aggressive, proactive, dependable characters.
"This tragedy has brought us all together," Hilbert said. "There's a strong bond at our station and we need that because our station is isolated. We're like on our own little island, so we have to help each other."
Fellow trooper Victor Ortalano, now stationed at the casino office in Bethlehem, worked with Miller in Swiftwater.
"He was a tremendous kid," Ortalano said. "He would bust my chops because he was a Marine and I'd been in the Air Force. My dad was in the Marines, so I'd have to hang my head and take it.
"Josh had your back," Ortalano said. "He was dedicated and devoted. He was a hard charger. He beat the bushes to keep the community safe. He believed 100 percent in making a difference. The bad guys knew him and feared him. "We lost a great guy," Ortalano said. "This is a tough day."
Miller's reputation earned him respect among those, working in other branches of law enforcement in Monroe County, who also were present at Friday's ceremony.
"He was the kind of trooper who didn't cause you to worry about any legal issues in how he handled incidents," said former Monroe County assistant district attorney Chris Jones, now working in the state Attorney General's Office. "He was very prepared and thorough. He exemplified what you would expect of a trooper. The same goes for Trooper Lombardo."
Tobyhanna Magisterial District Judge Anthony Fleugel said Miller always presented himself in a professional manner in the courtroom.
"He made other troopers proud," Fluegel said. "I feel sadness and concern for his family, his fellow troopers and those who were there with him at the scene that night."
Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Martin said Miller "symbolized what law enforcement should be."
Published in the Express-Times - June 13, 2009
YATESVILLE, Pa. | Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski remembered the day Trooper Joshua Miller got caught with tape on his lips.
Miller was visiting his wife, Angela, a state police communications operator, and was about to leave for a day of training.
Troopers asked Miller about the tape, and he explained he was leaving an imprint of his lips, a kiss, for his wife.
"Needless to say, he endured a lot for that," Pawlowski told more than 1,000 uniformed officers at Pittston Area High School's Charley Trippi Stadium.
Miller's funeral services Friday revealed the boyish, mischievous side of a serious, star trooper. Miller, who was awarded a posthumous state police Medal of Honor, was shot to death Sunday as he helped save a 9-year-old boy kidnapped from his mother's home in Nazareth. He was 34.
Miller grinned when he talked about his family, was delighted by free T-shirts and had a knack for asking at inopportune times, "Are you going to eat that?"
He claimed he once tracked a bear 30 miles through the woods and wrestled it to the ground. He also spoke of bagging world-record buck and turkeys. But when pressed on his hunting prowess, he would say his wife was a better hunter.
Gov. Ed Rendell said all of Pennsylvania is mourning Miller's death.
"There are 12.4 million of us who share your grief today," Rendell told more than 150 of Miller's family members and friends, who were surrounded on a Luzerne County football field by a sea of men and women in police uniforms. Miller's 1992 alma mater hosted the funeral.
To Miller's daughters, Rendell recounted his own father's death and said, "The truth is you didn't lose your dad. He will always be with you, and we will never forget him."
Drummers and a bagpipe corps in kilts led a U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard and a hearse into the football stadium.
Law enforcement officials who traveled from as far as Texas and California stood at attention under a hot sun throughout the funeral. At least one fainted, apparently due to the heat.
The officers saluted in unison when the hearse passed and again as pallbearers carried Miller's flag-draped casket from it.
Wyoming County Chief Detective David Ide said Miller spent the night before his death at a wedding. When Miller heard his wedding song, Ide said, he abruptly dropped a conversation and met his wife on the dance floor.
"The same things that made him a great police officer made him an even better husband, father and friend," Ide said.
Pawlowski, who said Miller accomplished more in six years as a state trooper than most troopers accomplish in a career, presented the Medal of Honor to Angela Miller, who wept through much of the ceremony.
Angela Miller threw her head back in grief as Lt. Col. Tedescung Bandy read Joshua Miller's obituary over the din of bagpipes.
Published in theWNEP-TV - June 12, 2009
The funeral for Trooper Joshua Miller drew thousands of people from our area and beyond. Many were deeply affected by the service.
The stadium at Pittston Area High School was filled with thousands of fellow troopers and people who came to remember the life and death of Trooper Miller.
They came by the thousands to honor a fallen trooper and a Marine. They marched side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Each step was a tribute to a fallen brother, 34-year-old Trooper Joshua Miller. Many knew him personally but many more did not.
"Trooper Miller's death hits very close to home for me. I'm a former resident of Pittston, graduate of Pittston High School. I joined the Maryland State Police 24 years ago. We're all in this together. We all walk on that thin blue line that separates good from evil," said Trooper A.J. McAndrew of the Maryland State Police.
Trooper Corey Brasher drove all the way from Texas to pay his respects. "We left Wednesday morning at 6 and we arrived here last night about 6 p.m. so it was just about 24 hours," said Trooper Brasher of the Texas Highway Patrol.
From one end of the country to the other, they came by the thousands. They said the message is clear. They will never forget fellow officer Joshua Miller or what he meant to their brotherhood.
"I think it exemplifies the level of commitment that's required to do this job and the brotherhood of law enforcement. It's an honor to be here. I wouldn't miss this for the world," said Captain Daniel Minor of the California State Police.
"There's less that 40,000 state troopers. It's a special breed. It's a special brotherhood," said Trooper Drew Keith of the New Hampshire State Police.
Those who didn't wear a uniform also paid their respects to Trooper Miller and his family.
"My son is currently on the job and he was stationed with Josh at Swiftwater and he was his coach when he came out of the academy," said retired state trooper Michael Yanochko. He came for the service with his family.
"I did 25 years and I never had to do anything like this. It it touches your heart," Yanochko added.
"I admire those men for putting their lives on the line every day for us and I feel for his family because I can feel if that was my son, Ii know how I would feel," said Diane Yanochko.
Stephen Yanochko said Trooper Miller's death has deeply affected his family and from the thousands of police and troopers who were at the funeral, it was obvious Miller's death touched a lot of hearts.
"It was overwhelming, the support that we received, this state. The unity that brought everyone together just was amazing," said Stephen Yanochko, brother of a state trooper.
"He was doing what he was supposed to do and I'm proud of all of them because they were doing what they do for everyone else here," Diane Yanochko added.
Published in the Scranton Times-Tribune - June 12, 2009
YATESVILLE - Under bright blue skies that belied the sadness below, thousands of mourners and law enforcement officials paid in an emotional tribute Friday to fallen Trooper Joshua D. Miller, who was shot to death on duty Sunday.
About 2,000 dress-uniformed law enforcement officers from 48 states converged on Charley Trippi Stadium and stood long periods at attention, dressed in gray, blue, brown and black and almost blanketing the field at Pittston Area High School.
They listened as Gov. Ed Rendell choked back tears, his voice cracking with empathy for Trooper Miller's wife, Angie, and his daughters, Justine, 16, Breanna, 13, and Joslyn, 2.
Mr. Rendell remembered losing his father at age 14.
"But I was lucky to have him for 14 years," he said.
Mr. Rendell paused, composing himself.
"It's been 51 years since my dad died, and I see him every day, I hear him every day. When I have tough decisions to make, I think about what he would have told me. So you didn't lose your dad," Mr. Rendell said, almost sobbing. "His memory will always be with you and we will never forget him."
As Mr. Rendell finished, only the sound of a strong wind could be heard.
Before and during the funeral ceremony, silence dominated the stadium, interrupted most often only by chirping birds.
It was a sharp contrast to the gunfire that claimed the trooper's life.
Trooper Miller was killed Sunday at the end of a 40-minute police chase between Northampton and Monroe counties by 31-year-old Daniel Autenrieth, who had kidnapped his own 9-year-old son. Trooper Robert J. Lombardo was wounded in gunfire as he and Trooper Miller rushed Mr. Autenrieth's car. Mr. Autenrieth was also killed.
A day before they would have celebrated her husband's 35th birthday, Angie Miller sat flanked by her oldest daughters, occasionally dabbing a white handkerchief at her eyes. In the Pittston High School stadium's aluminum stands, many of the 300 friends and other well-wishers cried along.
An American flag flew at half staff at one end of the field. Small flags waved in the breeze atop a tent that shaded family and close friends. Puffy, white clouds floated above, framing the blue sky and ringing the stadium.
As the ceremony began, a silver Cadillac hearse carrying Trooper Miller's body from the high school slowly rolled onto the stadium track with family members and troopers walking behind. A family member braced Mrs. Miller.
A riderless black horse, with boots backward in the stir-ups, was part of the procession, symbolic of Trooper Miller's absence.
A drummer in the New Jersey State Police Pipe Band rapped a crisp beat.
As a six-man detail of troopers removed the trooper's coffin from the hearse as bagpipers played "The Marines' Hymn" in honor of Trooper Miller's years as a Marine.
"It is a time of tragedy, dear Lord, as the life of one so loved has been taken from this world," said the Rev. Lori Robinson, pastor of the Eatonville United Methodist Church. "Expectations that the years once held have vanished. The incomprehensible sting of death has stricken us."
Wyoming County Chief Detective David Ide recalled a close friend with a great sense of humor, one who exaggerated stories of his hunting prowess, loved to eat, fearlessly entered buildings to battle armed drug dealers, took on the smallest tasks with commitment and collected free T-shirts from charity races they ran together.
"I don't know what Josh ever did with all those ... T-shirts because every time we worked out together or ran in one of those races, he would always wear the same old ratty T-shirt with the arm sleeves cut off," Detective Ide said.
State Police Commander Frank E. Pawlowski, sometimes choking back tears, said Trooper Miller treated the capture of drunken drivers as "a personal mission," often saying, "We're going to get one tonight."
He turned himself from "a mischievous school boy" into a model trooper who accomplished more in 6 ½ years than most troopers accomplish in a career, Commander Pawlowski said.
He also showed a softer side that showed up in his love for his family. One time, Commander Pawlowski said, Trooper Miller left his wife cellophane tape with the imprint of his lips on it before heading off for training.
Confronted by his killer Sunday, he did not compromise, he said.
"Evil was met with bold courage and an unrelenting will to do what must be done," he said.
Commander Pawlowski then presented Mrs. Miller the medal of honor, the highest decoration a trooper may receive.
For 45 minutes afterward, police cars, marked and unmarked, processed by a Jenkins Twp. Fire Department ladder truck that had hoisted a large American flag over Yatesville Road on the way to Trooper Miller's burial in Laceyville, Wyoming County.
A layer of slate gray moved across the sky and snuffed out the blue as the mile-long procession of police vehicles wended its way to the Lacey Street Cemetery. A warm wind whipped the rows of miniature flags planted across the cemetery lawn as, lights flashing, a motorcycle brigade ushered the hearse onto the burial grounds.
Pallbearers hefted the coffin to the grave site as the New York State Police Pipe and Drum Corps played and mourners congregated under a blue awning. Row after row of the troopers' fellow officers marched onto the grounds and stood at attention as Fathers Alfred Vito and Daniel Hitchko opened the service with prayer.
Then the slain trooper's commander, Captain James Murtin of Troop N, addressed the mourners, challenging them to let go of their negative emotions.
"If we let emotions such as anger, hate and self-pity grow within us, no one would blame us for doing so," he said. But in honor of their fallen hero, he asked them to let go. "Get it out, sink it down."
The somber pageantry continued with the approach of six helicopters. Once overhead the formation broke when one turned its nose and went off into another direction and disappeared behind green hills.
Officers ceremoniously folded the flag that had draped the coffin and presented it to the family. Trooper Lombardo also presented them with Trooper Miller's campaign hat.
The quiet was interrupted by a buzz from the police scanner, as Police Communications Operator Dawn Marasco sent out a last call for the Trooper.
"Swiftwater two, Swiftwater two," she said. When he didn't answer she called him by name, and then, the thick quiet broken by muffled cries, she said, "We thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice."
As the crowd made its way to the casket, many laid a palm or brushed fingers across the wood. When it came to be her turn, Mrs. Miller leaned over and pressed her lips to its curved surface, sending a last kiss with her husband.
The crowd dispersed as the chords of Balmoral reverberated off the hillside. Finally, in silence, the trooper was lowered into the ground.
Published in the Scranton Times-Tribune - June 12, 2009
YATESVILLE - They came from across the state and beyond.
Hundreds of police officers, from nearly every state, shuffled through Pittston Area High School with heavy hearts.
They wear different uniforms and perform different jobs, but on this day their mission was the same: honor fallen state Trooper Joshua Miller.
"Even though it happened here, we lost a brother, too," said Philadelphia police Sgt. Kenyatta Lee, whose department sent 50 officers to pay their respects at Trooper Miller's viewing on Thursday. "The citizens of Pennsylvania lost a hero."
Trooper Miller, 34, of Pittston Twp., was killed Sunday in a shootout with a man who had kidnapped his own 9-year-old son.
To accommodate the outpouring of support from around the country, the married father of three's viewing was in the auditorium of his alma mater.
In uniform, he lay in an open casket surrounded by a grand floral display in front of the auditorium's stage. A photo tribute of his life was projected on a screen behind the casket, as solemn instrumental music played.
Hundreds of mourners began to line up to pay their respects prior to the 1 p.m. start of the viewing. For nearly an hour, the line didn't move. A solemn tribute was occurring inside.
Dozens of state troopers were passing by the casket, being the first, after the family, to say goodbye to a fallen trooper and friend.
Capt. James Murtin, one of Trooper Miller's supervisors, came out to apologize and announce the public would be allowed in soon.
"It's a very deep and special moment for us. I thank you," Capt. Murtin said.
Capt. Murtin is the commanding officer of Troop N, Hazleton, the headquarters of Trooper Miller's station, the Swiftwater barracks. He walked the receiving line and thanked every officer for coming.
"People from all parts of the country have come to support and givetheir sympathies to the state police and, in particular, Josh Miller and his family. It's hard to imagine a profession that comes together as much to support one another," Capt. Murtin said.
As people waited in the lobby of the school, they viewed the same photo tribute that was playing inside. The pictures ranged from Trooper Miller as a baby to holding his own baby girl. There were photos of family vacations, hunting trips and portraits with his wife and three daughters.
A table nearby displayed memorabilia of his time in the Marines and state police, which included his signed oath upon becoming a trooper in which he promised to "lay down my life as others have done before me, rather than swerve from the path of duty."
That's what his superiors said he did Sunday when a 9-year-old boy's life was at stake. He and fellow troopers joined a pursuit of a man accused of kidnapping his son at gunpoint near Easton. After a 40-mile chase, Trooper Miller forced the vehicle into a guardrail on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Twp. in Monroe County.
Trooper Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, of Pittston, rushed to the car.
Bullets flew.
Trooper Miller was fatally wounded. Trooper Lombardo was shot in his shoulder. Shots fired by the troopers killed the suspect, Daniel M. Autenrieth. The boy was unharmed.
Trooper Miller leaves behind a wife, Angela, and children, Justine, 16, Breana, 13, and Joslyn, 2.
"It's a shock. I can't believe it. It's tragic she has to raise that baby by herself," said Patti Bartuska, 51, of Avoca, while leaving the viewing Thursday.
Ms. Bartuska's son-in-law, Trooper Nick Cortes, worked with Trooper Miller at the Swiftwater barracks. She was impressed by the mass of police officers gathered and touched by the emotions she saw in their faces.
"They never let their guard down, but you could see it on their faces, the grief, the sorrow, the tears in their eyes. He'll be badly missed. He's a hero."
Published in the Associated Press - June 12, 2009
YATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Joshua Miller was a highly committed member of the Pennsylvania state police — a trooper's trooper obsessed with physical fitness and taking drunken drivers off the road.
But the 34-year-old Marine veteran had another side, his square-jawed intensity betrayed by glints of the mischievous schoolboy he once was. He told tall tales about his prowess as a hunter, ribbed colleagues mercilessly, sponged food. He grinned ear-to-ear whenever he spoke about his three daughters. He was so in love with his wife that he once left her a piece of tape with an imprint of his lips — a "kiss."
That more intimate side of Miller emerged during his funeral service Friday as hundreds of police officers from 48 states gathered on a football field in northeastern Pennsylvania to mourn and honor the fallen trooper, killed in a shootout Sunday night while helping to rescue a boy who had been kidnapped by his father.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press Friday that surveillance footage from a sporting goods store showed the man's girlfriend purchasing the handgun in late May. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into how Daniel Autenrieth, 31, got the gun is not complete.
Autenrieth, who was not permitted to have a weapon under the terms of a protection-from-abuse order, was with his girlfriend when she bought the 9 mm handgun, the official said.
After arguing with his estranged wife Sunday night, Autenrieth kidnapped his son at gunpoint and led police on a 40-mile chase into the Pocono Mountains, then opened fire as troopers rushed his car. Autenrieth and Miller died in the gunbattle and another trooper was wounded.
Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, who was hit in the torso, were credited with distracting Autenrieth while other officers whisked the boy to safety. Autenrieth's son was unhurt.
"On Sunday, June 7, 2009, there would be no compromise of duty," state police commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said at the funeral service, held on the football field at Pittston Area High School. "Evil was met with bold courage and an unrelenting will to do what must be done."
Pawlowski posthumously awarded Miller the state police Medal of Honor, giving the medal to his sobbing widow, Angela, a state police communications operator.
The funeral procession was led by a kilt-wearing drum and bagpipe corps, followed by a hearse bearing the emblem of the United States Marine Corps and a riderless horse. The football field was a sea of dress uniforms in various shades of blue, brown, gray and black as officers stood at attention under mostly sunny skies. At least four officers fell ill due to the heat, including a state police lieutenant taken off the football field on a stretcher.
Wyoming County Chief Detective David Ide recounted his friend's love of hunting — and his penchant for embellishment, like the time Miller claimed to have tracked a bear 30 miles into the woods and then wrestled it to the ground.
"If you would listen to Josh tell a story about his hunting adventures ... you would think you were listening to Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone," quipped Ide, who was chief of the Tunkhannock borough police when Miller joined the force as a rookie cop in 1999. "But Josh would be the first one to tell you that his wife Angie was the better hunter of the two of them."
An emotional Gov. Ed Rendell said all of Pennsylvania mourned the loss of Miller, the first state police trooper to die in the line of duty since 2005.
"There are 12.4 million of us who share your grief today," he told Miller's wife and three daughters, ages 16, 13 and 2. "We grieve because of the tragedy that has befallen you and your extended family. ... We grieve for every law enforcement officer in the commonwealth because Trooper Miller's death is a reminder of the ongoing danger that each and every one of (them) face every day, an unknown danger."
After the funeral, Miller's body was taken to Laceyville for a private burial.
Published in the Scranton Times-Tribune - June 11, 2009
HARRISBURG - The four-member detail moved silently through the Capitol on Wednesday, past visitors and lobbyists, with the relic entrusted to their care: an American flag honoring fallen state Trooper Joshua Miller.
The detail, which included Trooper Mark Prushinski and Sgt. Paul Cavallaro of Troop R, Dunmore, soon reached its destination on the rooftop of the Capitol.
There, working in a mild breeze, they raised the Honor Flag as a remembrance to Trooper Miller, killed Sunday in a shootout in Monroe County.
In this way, Trooper Miller was honored as other police officers, firefighters and military personnel killed in the line of duty have been in recent years.
Conceived as a tribute in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by sponsors in Texas, the Honor Flag is on a peripatetic journey around the nation and world. It has flown at Ground Zero in Manhattan. Special details escort the original flag from place to place so it can be flown in a hero's honor.
In honor of Trooper Miller, the flag flew over the Capitol for one hour.
"The flag is a small remembrance for people to realize what he did and the life he lost," Trooper Prushinski said.
Trooper Prushinski has helped with elaborate arrangements to ensure the flag is not lost or misplaced during its travels. The Honor Network, the nonprofit organization that handles requests for the flag's appearances, has embedded a chip in the material so its identity can be verified.
"The flag doesn't leave us," added Trooper Prushinski. "It's watched the entire time."
He and Sgt. Cavallaro left home at 5 a.m. to meet another detail escorting the flag at Philadelphia International Airport. They were joined by two Capitol Police officers for the flag-raising.
The motorcade route for Trooper Joshua Miller's funeral procession Friday has been set, the state Department of Transportation said.
The procession will leave Pittston Area High School at 12:30 p.m., following Yatesville Road to South Main Street. It will travel north on Main to the Fort Jenkins Bridge and then north on Route 92.
The motorcade will continue on Route 92 to Tunkhannock, where it will turn west onto Route 6. An honor guard will be staged at the Tunkhannock state police barracks. The motorcade will travel west on Route 6 to Laceyville, where Trooper Miller will be buried at the Lacey Street Cemetery.
Along Route 92, traffic will be stopped at Falls Bridge and again at Route 307. In Tunkhannock, there will be a signed detour onto Dark Hollow Road for other Route 6 motorists. Traffic will also be stopped at Routes 6 and 87 as the motorcade continues into Laceyville.
Published in the Express Times - June 11, 2009
More than 2,000 people, from family and friends to civilians and law enforcement officers, lined up outside Pittston Area High School today to pay tribute to a fallen Pennsylvania State trooper.
The viewing is for Trooper Joshua D. Miller, killed Sunday in a gun battle with Palmer Township resident Daniel Autenrieth following a 40-mile car chase Sunday night.
Visitors filed past Miller's body, which now rests in a coffin at the auditorium of the high school he graduated from in 1992.
An American flag was draped over his body, and his trooper hat was placed next to his head. His widow Angela, their daughters and his mother hugged well-wishers as state troopers and police officers halted at the coffin to give a salute.
Capt. James Murtin, commander of Pennsylvania State Police Troop N in Hazleton, said family members declined to comment, but were deeply comforted by the show of support they saw today.
"They're overwhelmed," Murtin said. "Angela has told us time and time again how appreciative she has been of the support she has received from the time this tragedy occurred."
An overhead screen above the viewing line displayed photographs from Miller's life, including time spent with his family, his graduation from the police academy and his time with the United States Marine Corps.
"I literally could send him commendations every day, every week for the job he did as a trooper," Murtin said. "He not only worked the job, he lived the job."
In addition to the Pennsylvania State Police, police departments from throughout Pennsylvania and as far as Vermont and Arkansas attended the viewing.
Stuart Bedics, deputy commissioner of the Bethlehem Police Department, said he did not know Miller personally, but felt a kinship with him, particularly because Miller was first stationed with the Pennsylvania State Police Bethlehem barracks.
"We're just here to show our support for a fallen brother officer," Bedics said.
Funeral services are set for 11 a.m. Friday at the high school. The burial will be in Lacey Street Cemetery in Laceyville, Wyoming County.
Published in the Morning Call - June 11, 2009
A viewing is in progress for a Pennsylvania state trooper killed in the line of duty this week. Trooper Joshua Miller's casket is in the auditorium of Pittston Area High School until 8 p.m.tonight.
The funeral is set for 11 a.m. tomorrow at the school's stadium.
Miller, of Pittston Township, would have turned 35 this Saturday.
Miller's mother, Peggy Hurysh, dressed in all black and surrounded by family members, entered the crowded building at 1:20 p.m. to see her son's body. A large crowd snaked around the foyer of the high school and out the front door, waiting to view Miller.
A large framed photo of Miller is surrounded by colorful flowers in the center of the foyer, along with medals, certificates and awards he achieved since graduating from high school in 1992. Miller's funeral is tomorrow.
Daniel Autenrieth, 31, of Palmer Township also died in the gun battle with police. State police said Autenrieth, armed with a 9 mm handgun, was supposed to drop off his three kids at his estranged wife's Nazareth home Sunday night, but instead took the oldest child at gunpoint after a dispute with the woman, Susan Autenrieth.
She called police, who chased Daniel Autenrieth through Northampton and Monroe counties. The chase ended in Coolbaugh Township when Miller rammed his police cruiser into Daniel Autenrieth's car, spinning it into a guardrail, police said.
As officers pulled the boy from the car, police said, Autenrieth opened fire on Miller and Trooper Robert Lombardo, who was shot in the shoulder. Miller, the father of three children, died a short while later. Lombardo survived.
Published in the Citizens Voice - June 11, 2009
Hundreds of people, including police from as far away as Arkansas, have come to pay their respects to fallen state Trooper Joshua Miller.
Miller’s flag-draped casket is in the auditorium of Pittston Area High School for a public viewing.
“People from all parts of the county have come to give their sympathies to the state police and in particular Josh Miller and his family. It’s almost overwhelming to see,” said Capt. James Murtin, one of Trooper Miller’s supervisors. “It’s a fine day when people like that recognize the role law enforcement has in their lives and appreciate what Josh Miller did in service of them.”
Miller, 34, of Pittston Township, died Sunday in a gun battle after a 40-mile police chase in the Poconos.
“This is the last place on earth I want to be,” said Rochester police Officer Brian Phillips, one of Miller’s friends in the Marine Corps. “I’ll always remember Josh. I’ll never forget Josh.”
The viewing began around 1 p.m. Dozens of fellow troopers were first allowed the auditorium to pay their respect to their fallen comrade. Doors to the public open nearly an hour later after a line of hundreds formed.
Murtin thanks mourners for waiting.
“It’s a very deep and special moment for us,” he said.
The lobby outside the auditorium is filled with memorabilia from Miller’s time in the Marines and state police. There’s a flat-screen television displaying a looping photo tribute of Miller’s life.
The viewing is scheduled to run until 8 p.m.
Murtin said the funeral is still scheduled to be held outside Friday morning in the Charley Trippi Stadium on the Pittston Area campus, unless thunderstorms are likely.
“The Pennsylvania State Police will lead the way. We will stand in the rain for as long as it takes to give a fitting tribute to a fallen hero, Josh Miller.
Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer - June 11, 2009
NAZARETH, Pa. - A woman whose estranged husband shot and killed a state trooper said the trooper was a hero for coming to the rescue of her 9-year-old son.
"Trooper Joshua Miller traded his life for the protection of my son's and very well may have saved numerous other lives," Susan Autenrieth said in a written statement, her first since Miller died in a shoot-out with her husband, Daniel.
After arguing with his wife Sunday night, Daniel Autenrieth, 31, kidnapped their son, Trevor, and led police on a 40-mile chase into the Poconos, then opened fire as troopers rushed his car. Autenrieth and Miller died, and another trooper was wounded.
Miller, 34, whose funeral is tomorrow, and Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, have been hailed for distracting Autenrieth while other officers whisked the boy to safety. "Both of these law enforcement officers are forever
Published in the Citizens Voice - June 9, 2009
State Trooper Joshua D. Miller will buried with full state police and military honors during a public commemoration of his life Thursday and Friday.
The viewing and the funeral will take place at Pittston Area High School to accommodate the large crowds expected to attend, according to the Sheldon-Kukuchka Funeral Home in Tunkhannock.
The viewing is from 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The funeral is at 11 a.m. Friday.
Trooper Miller will be buried in Lacey Street Cemetery, Laceyville, the borough where his wife, Angela, grew up.
Published in the Pocono Record - June 09, 2009
State Trooper Joshua Miller earned so many commendations for his police work over his six-year career that his commanding officer joked he could crash his computer if he tried to send them all as e-mails.
There were so many letters of commendation for Trooper Miller that Capt. James Murtin, commander of the State Police Troop N in Swiftwater, had recently written a new positive citation for the trooper, but had not yet delivered it.
Miller will never see that commendation. He was killed Sunday evening after a high-speed chase with a gunman who had kidnapped his son in a bitter custody dispute.
"It truly was a weekly, if not daily, event that I would be sending him commendations," Murtin said Monday. "In fact, on my desk, troop letters of commendation is waiting for him that I just created recently that I did not get the opportunity to give to him. So, it's a very difficult time."
Fellow Trooper Robert Lombardo joined Miller in pursuing the suspect Sunday evening. He suffered one gunshot wound to his armpit area and was treated and released from a Scranton hospital on Monday.
Each state trooper who talked about Miller on Monday used the same word to describe the man they say risked his own life to protect others — hero.
"We are confident that the heroic actions of the state troopers and local police officers yesterday saved the life of a 9-year-old boy and possibly other citizens," said Col. Frank Pawlowski, Pennsylvania state police commissioner.
Miller leaves behind a wife, three children — ages 15, 13 and 2 — and a decorated career over six years with the state police. 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.
His widow, Angela M. Miller, is a police communications operator at Troop P, Wyoming, Luzerne County.
"In 2008, (Miller) led the entirety of our five-station troop in DUI arrests," Murtin said. "He was a man that longed for police work and the action that went with it. He was well trained and took his training seriously. He was a friend and brother to everybody here at the Swiftwater station."
Lombardo has also been highly decorated during his career. He earned the State Police Medal of Honor in 2005 for trying to save two young girls trapped in a burning building. Lombardo ran into the burning home on Dec. 7, 2004, in an attempt to rescue the children who died in the fire. Lombardo was treated for smoke inhalation and other officers were treated for minor burns.
Miller's body was transported to Pittston on Monday, his hometown, where a funeral will be scheduled.
Published in the Citizens Voice - June 9, 2009
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 guardrail. 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 at 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 at Community Medical Center and released on Monday, investigators said.
The troopers shot Mr. Autenrieth eight times, according to Lt. Robert Bartal, crime section commander for the 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 investigators 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.
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.
Published in the Citizens Voice - June 9, 2009
The lives of state Troopers Joshua D. Miller and Robert J. Lombardo mirrored each other for decades.
Both from large Pittston-area families, they attended the same high school, graduated from the police academy a year apart and later carpooled to work after being stationed at the same police barracks in the Poconos.
Sunday night, the two men found themselves a few feet apart, thrust into a shootout after a high-speed pursuit with a suspect accused of kidnapping his own son.
Both men were shot.
Trooper Miller, 34, was mortally wounded. Trooper Lombardo, 35, was hit in the shoulder. The suspect was killed.
Shock reverberated Monday through the Pittston area as family and friends tried to come to grips with the tragedy. Both troopers still called Luzerne County home. Trooper Miller lived in Pittston Twp.; Trooper Lombardo lives in Pittston.
After graduating from Pittston Area High School in 1992, Trooper Miller enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was a loving husband and father of three, ages 16, 12 and 2, said Jamie Miller, 29, the fallen trooper's cousin and neighbor on Suscon Road.
"He was dedicated to being a state trooper and was an all-around good guy," Jamie Miller said. "After the Marines, he just wanted to keep serving his country. He wanted to help people. That's what he did best. He loved his job."
Trooper Miller, who would have turned 35 on Saturday, came from a family dedicated to public service, family members said. His younger brother, Daniel, is serving in Iraq with the Army, Jamie Miller said.
Family said Trooper Miller was a prison guard in Monroe County and a police officer in Tunkhannock before entering the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.
Dozens of state troopers in cars and motorcycles escorted Trooper Miller's body back to Luzerne County from Monroe County on Monday afternoon, filing past his Suscon Road home before stopping at the Charles J. Graziano Funeral Home. Family and friends gathered outside the funeral home on the Pittston Bypass. Loved ones wept and troopers saluted as his body was taken into the funeral home. Trooper Miller's family said the viewing will likely be Thursday night at Pittston Area High School.
Trooper Miller graduated from the State Police Academy in April 2003 and was initially assigned to Troop M, Bethlehem in Northampton County. He later transferred to his current station, Troop N, Swiftwater. His widow, Angela M. Miller, works for the state police as a police communications operator at Troop P, Wyoming.
Trooper Lombardo graduated from the academy one year after Trooper Miller in April 2004.
He began his career in police work shortly after graduating from Pittston Area High School, starting as a dispatcher for the state police at Dunmore barracks. He later worked for the Jenkins Twp. and Pittston police departments.
"He wanted to be a state policeman in the worst way," his father, Dr. Joseph Lombardo, said. "He really is a role model for the state police. He lives and breathes state police, and he worked hard to get there."
Trooper Lombardo is one of eight children born to Joseph and Mary Elizabeth Lombardo. Dr. Lombardo, who has a medical practice in Pittston, serves on the board of trustees at Luzerne County Community College.
The trooper's brother, Michael Lombardo, was Pittston's mayor from 1998 to 2006, and serves as director of Gov. Ed Rendell's Scranton office.
Trooper Lombardo and his wife, Jennifer, have been married two years.
He has been a loving and generous uncle to many nieces and nephews, as well as a dedicated son, his father said. Sunday before leaving for work, he visited his mother in the hospital. He made daily visits to his mother, who has been in and out of hospitals for the past year, his father said.
Sunday's incident stirred memories for the family of when Trooper Lombardo's older brother, John, died in 1993 while fighting a fire as a Pittston City firefighter.
Trooper Lombardo was released from Community Medical Center on Monday.
"It's more painful for me to know about the young man who was killed," Dr. Lombardo said of his son's injuries. "I saw my son. I know he's alive. It's terribly gut wrenching thinking about the call (Trooper Miller's family) got last night. ... It's kind of a bittersweet day for me. We're celebrating Robbie's life being spared, but I'm mourning for the Millers as if he were my own son."
Sunday night, as dozens of state police officers gathered at CMC, Dr. Lombardo noted the compassion and dedication his fellow officers gave to the family.
"They talk about the brotherhood of firefighters and police and you could really see it (Sunday) night," Dr. Lombardo said. "It's a brotherhood as strong as his brothers and sisters."
Published in the Associated Press - June 8, 2009
SWIFTWATER, Pa. (AP) — Police officers in northeastern Pennsylvania rescued a 9-year-old boy who had been kidnapped by his father as a fatal gun battle erupted between the man and state troopers, authorities said Monday.
After arguing with his estranged wife during a custody exchange, Daniel Autenrieth kidnapped his son at gunpoint, then led police on a 40-mile high-speed chase that ended with a crash and an exchange of gunfire, state police commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said. Autenrieth and a state trooper were killed.
"I can't begin to describe the hurt and sorrow being experienced by the Pennsylvania state police," Pawlowski told a somber news conference at the Swiftwater barracks, the trooper's home base. "What happened yesterday is nothing short of an American tragedy."
The chase Sunday night began outside Easton, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia, and ended just east of Tobyhanna in the Pocono Mountains when troopers purposely bumped Autenrieth's car, causing it to spin into a guard rail along state Route 611.
As Troopers Joshua Miller, 34, and Robert Lombardo, 35, rushed the driver's side, Autenrieth took out a handgun and fired three shots from close range, police said. Though both troopers were hit, they returned fire, striking Autenrieth eight times.
As the troopers and Autenrieth traded fire, two other officers plucked the boy from the front passenger seat of the car. The boy escaped injury.
Autenrieth, 31, died at the scene. Miller, a Marine veteran who joined the force in 2002, was shot in the neck and thigh and was rushed to a hospital near Allentown, where he died of his wounds. Lombardo was treated for a gunshot wound and was released.
Miller was married with three children. Lombardo has been with the state police for five years. Both troopers are from Pittston.
Outside the Swiftwater barracks Monday, about two dozen troopers, state police personnel and police officers from other departments lined busy Route 611, standing at attention and saluting as a convoy of police cruisers and a police helicopter went past, escorting a hearse carrying Miller's body to a funeral home in Pittston.
Pawlowski called Miller "a hero."
"An individual embroiled in a domestic dispute for some reason chose to escalate the violence, and it ended with a hero losing his life, a wife losing her husband and three children losing a loving father," Pawlowski said.
Police were trying to figure out what set off Autenrieth, who was supposed to drop off his three children curbside at his estranged wife's townhouse Sunday night. Instead, he went into the house in Nazareth — ignoring a May 18 protection-from-abuse order that forbade it — and began arguing with her.
A neighbor, Arlene Benginia, said she heard the couple screaming at each other. By the time she got outside to investigate, police had arrived but Autenrieth and his son were gone.
"He has my son! He has a gun!" screamed the wife, Susan Autenrieth, according to Benginia.
Police immediately took off in pursuit and soon caught up to the suspect. The chase lasted more than 30 minutes and involved nine police cruisers as Daniel Autenrieth threaded busy intersections and floored it on major highways, authorities said.
"It was just sheer havoc out along the roadway," Pawlowski said. "It was an extremely dangerous situation."
Police said they are investigating how Autenrieth got the gun. Because he was subject to a protection-from-abuse order, he was not permitted to have one.
No one answered the door Monday at the home.
Susan Autenrieth's landlord, Jay Orwig, said she moved to the townhouse with her three children in February. Her husband, who lived in nearby Palmer Township, "obviously wasn't thinking about the children at all," he said.
Susan Autenrieth's next-door neighbor, Rachel Lilly, said she met Daniel Autenrieth once, when her children and his children played together at a community park. She said he seemed normal.
"I feel so bad for all the children of the families involved, especially the children of the trooper," Lilly said. Susan Autenrieth, she said, is "a sweet lady who doesn't deserve this."
Published on the WNEP News - June 8, 2009
Both state troopers involved in a chase and deadly shoot-out in Monroe County Sunday night grew up in Pittston.
People who knew him said Trooper Joshua Miller will be dearly missed. He was a Pittston area native and father of three daughters.
His wife is a police communications officer at the state police barracks in Wyoming where the flag flies at half staff.
Family members said they can't believe it.
"One of the best guys I ever met, do anything for you, give the shirt off his back. Great father, great husband, just do anything for you. Outstanding man," said cousin James Miller.
Trooper Robert Lombardo was injured in the shoot-out that killed Miller. He is also a Pittston native and no stranger to tragedy himself.
His brother, John, was a firefighter in Pittston when he and another firefighter were killed fighting a blaze in 1993.
Trooper Lombardo was hospitalized but released Monday afternoon.
Trooper Miller made a final trip home Monday. A procession led him from Lehigh Valley Hospital to a funeral home in Pittston Township.
"It's hard for the girls, his three daughters. The youngest one is two, 13 and 16. Our hearts go out to them and the wife," said James Miller.
Trooper Miller has a brother currently serving in the military in Iraq. Officials are working on getting him home for the trooper's funeral which will likely be held at the Pittston Area High School auditorium.
Published on the WFMZ News - June 8, 2009
A long procession of police cars returned the body of Trooper Joshua Miller from Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown to the Poconos this afternoon. Miller, 34, was killed in a shoot-out following a 40-mile chase through parts of Northampton and Monroe counties last night.
Governor Rendell has offered his condolences on behalf of the state to Miller's family and friends.
"Trooper Miller died carrying out his sworn duty to protect the citizens of the commonwealth," said Rendell. "Midge and I join with all residents of Pennsylvania in extending our deepest sympathies to Trooper Miller's wife, Angela, and his three children."
Governor Rendell also expressed his concern for Trooper Robert Lombardo, 35, who was wounded during the shoot-out.
"The death of Trooper Miller and the wounding of Trooper Lombardo remind us all once again of the dangers that our law enforcement officers face each day," Governor Rendell said.
Miller would have celebrated his 35th birthday on June 13. He graduated from the State Police Academy in April 2003 and was assigned to Troop M, Bethlehem. He later transferred to Troop N, Swiftwater. His widow, Angela M. Miller, works for State Police as a police communications operator at Troop P, Wyoming, Luzerne County.
Funeral services for Trooper Miller are pending.
Rendell has ordered all Pennsylvania flags on state facilities and throughout the commonwealth to be lowered to half staff in memory of Trooper Miller through Friday, June 12.
Published on the WNEP News - June 8, 2009
State troopers were forced Monday to investigate the death of one of their own.
Nearly a full day after the police chase ended with a wreck along Route 611 near Tobyhanna, the scene still looked as it did the night before.
Daniel Autenrieth's car sat wrecked against the guiderail, boxed in by police cruisers. It's the spot where Autenrieth and Trooper Joshua Miller were killed in a shoot-out and Trooper Robert Lombardo was injured.
"I didn't hear about the trooper until this morning. I was sad that both were wounded and they were pretty young too," said neighbor Morgan Carlson. He was just one of many living along the 40-mile chase route who saw the chase whip by. He lives just up the road from where it ended.
"Oh they were flying. Definitely," Carlson added.
"I just heard a lot of trooper cars and ambulances and I thought,'Oh my. There must be a bad wreck.' Then I said something must be really wrong," said Pete Dailey.
"I couldn't say nothing because I was shook. I couldn't say nothing. I was just shaken and I kept watching out my bedroom window," Pauline Dailey said.
Neighbors were shocked learning a trooper lost his life after what happened along Route 611. They were even more shocked the suspect's little boy was in the car to see all this play out.
They were reminded all day of what happened as troopers marked every detail of the scene, as they documented the all the events that left their colleague and his killer dead.
"We don't need that in Tobyhanna. Tobyhanna's a nice little town. It's a shame something like that had to happen," Carlson said.
It was 20 hours after the crash and deadly shooting when Route 611 when the suspect's car and the police cruiser were towed from the scene.
Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer - June 8, 2009
A state police trooper and a fleeing father who had abducted his 9-year-old son were killed in a roadside gun battle in the Poconos after a 40-mile high-speed chase involving up to nine police cars.
State police this afternoon described a dramatic confrontation that began after the father, Daniel M. Autenrieth, was forced off Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, and into a guardrail.
Troopers Joshua Miller, 34, and Robert Lombardo, 35, approached the vehicle, smashing the windows, an effort to rescue the son. It was unclear how the boy was removed from the vehicle, but he was unhurt.
Miller was shot in the chest and killed in the gun fight, which occurred around 8 p.m. Sunday, and Lombardo wounded. Autenrieth was shot eight times, state police said. Lombardo has been released from the hospital.
The chase began outside Easton after Autenrieth arrived at the home of his estranged wife, Susan, to pick up one or more of the couple's three children in a pre-arranged visit.
Last month a Northampton County judge awarded custody of the children - the boy and girls, aged 4 and 3 - to Susan Autenrieth and ordered the father to have no contact with her.
She had sought the protection-from-abuse order, saying that Daniel Autenrieth, who was 6-foot-2 and weighed about 230 pounds, had attacked her. He, in turn, argued that she had beaten the boy.
When he arrived at the house Sunday night, the couple got into a dispute, he threatened her with a gun and ended up leaving with the boy, state police said.
During the chase, police attempted to place devices on the road to pop Autenrieth's tires, but he evaded them. Finally, Miller was able to tap the vehicle, knocking the car into a guardrail, setting up the gun battle.
Published in the The Express Times - June 08, 2009, 4:01 PM
Trooper Joshua Miller was shot a second time in the right side of his abdomen, and the third shot Autenreith fired struck the left tricep of Trooper Robert Lombardo. Lombardo is in satisfactory condition.
Lombardo shot Autenrieth five times, state police said.
Autenrieth was firing a 9mm handgun that was not registered to him, officials said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is helping state police determine how he got the weapon, which was purchased in late May. The Protection From Abuse Order that Susan Autenrieth had filed against him barred him from possessing a weapon.
Colonel Frank Pawlowski, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, addresses the press regarding the death of State Trooper Joshua Miller.The gunfire was exchanged after Miller ended a 40-mile chase when he used a precision impact tactic to stop Autenrieth's Honda Civic and spin it around on Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township.
Miller was driving one of nine vehicles chasing Autenrieth, whom Nazareth police began pursuing after a custody dispute on Union Street in the borough. He bumped the back corner of Autenrieth's car with the front of his patrol vehicle, causing it to spin 180 degrees until the driver's side was near the guide rail.
Miller and Lombardo, who both had driven past the stopped vehicle, got out of their cars and ran back to the Autenrieth's stopped car, dodging oncoming traffic, state police said. It is unclear who fired the first gunshots as they approached his driver's side door.
During the gunfire, state police Trooper John Osterhout and Cpl. Fred Lahovski from Tatamy Police Department broke the passenger's side window and pulled 9-year-old Trevor Autenrieth to safety.
Police have inspected two of four videos of the chase that were taken by dashboard cameras mounted in police vehicles, state police said.
Officials several times during the news conference described Miller as a hero.
"The best thing to describe (Miller) is he was one of our stars," Pennsylvania State Police Troop N Hazleton Commander James Murtin said. "He was a man that longed for police work and the action that came along with it.
"I joked I could crash my computer sending him e-mails for all the good things he's done," Murtin said of the highly decorated trooper.
Before the chase, Autenrieth was dropping off he and Susan's three children at Susan Autenrieth's home in the 400 block of Union Street in Nazareth. He was supposed to drop them off at the curb, state police said, but instead entered the home with a gun and argued with Susan, threatening her. She called police after he left with their 9-year-old son.
Published in the Express Times - June 08, 2009
A police chase that began Sunday night in Nazareth ended in Tobyhanna Township, Pa., with the suspect shot dead and two Pennsylvania state troopers wounded, police said.
Officials in Monroe County said the chase ended about 8:40 p.m. at Routes 611 and 423.
Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis told a news conference the man police were chasing was fatally shot, the Pocono Record reported.
Lewis also said two Pennsylvania State Police troopers from the Swiftwater barracks were seriously wounded.
Channel 6 in Philadelphia was reporting Sunday night on its Web site that one trooper was in critical condition.
Nazareth police Chief Michael Sinclair said the chase began about 7:45 p.m. following a custody dispute at a home on the 400 block of Union Street.
Police radio reports indicate a man, who was armed with a handgun, took a child from the home and drove away. The man drove north on Route 191 through Northampton County with multiple police cruisers in tow.
Near the end of the chase, state police were reportedly using a rolling roadblock to stop the man, according to radio reports.
The child, who police say is about 9 years old, was not hurt in the chase, Lewis told the Pocono Record.
Pennsylvania State Police at Swiftwater declined on Sunday night to comment on the situation.
In Memory of Trooper Joshua Miller
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