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Community grieves loss of Pa. state trooper

Trooper Paul G. Richey was ambushed during a domestic dispute

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Trooper Paul Richey, a 16-year-veteran of the Penn. State Police.

By Luis Fabregas
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

PITTSBURGH — Every Thursday afternoon, Trooper Paul G. Richey would pick up his children, Connor and Catherine, at the after-school program at his parents’ church.

Cat, 6, always ran to Daddy. Connor, 11, followed close behind.

“He lived for his kids,” said Shirley Robinson of Franklin, a member of East Grove United Methodist Church and daughter of a cousin of Richey’s grandfather. “His kids were his life.”

Richey, 40, a 16-year veteran of the state police, died Wednesday morning responding to a domestic dispute in Cranberry in Venango County.

State police said troopers from the Special Emergency Response Team entered the house along Bredinsburg Road about 6:15 p.m. and found the bodies of Michael J. Smith, 44, and his wife, Nancy Frey-Smith, 53.

Authorities believe Smith killed his wife and Richey before turning the gun on himself.

Gov. Ed Rendell ordered flags lowered in honor of Richey, the 93rd state police officer to die in the line of duty.

Richey’s grief-stricken relatives spoke about frantically calling each other after hearing news someone shot a trooper. They prayed it wasn’t Paul, the son of two of the church’s most active members, Nancy and Clinton “Sam” Richey, and considered a “good Christian man.”

When they received the dreaded confirmation, their thoughts immediately turned to Richey’s wife, Carrie, a teacher with Oil City Area School District, and their children, who are old enough to ask tough questions about what happened.

“We believe that Paul is in a wonderful place, but what is the sense of this?” said Robinson, 80, who lives in the Bully Hill section of Franklin, not far from the Richeys. “It does cause you to question why these things happen.”

Richey talked about a career in law enforcement from a young age. His father was especially proud of this and always said his son was doing work he loved, relatives said.

“When he graduated from high school, he told his dad he wanted to be a policeman,” said Betty Richey, 87, known by family members as Aunt Betty. She used to baby-sit Richey. Her husband and Richey’s father were cousins.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,” she said. “He was just a special fellow. He was wonderful.”

Richey joined the state police on May 17, 1993, according to Rendell’s office. He graduated from the State Police Academy in Hershey that November and was assigned to Troop F station in Northumberland County. He transferred to Troop E station at Corry in Erie County in October 1996, and to the Franklin station in May 1997.

Another relative, Sandy Dulaney, said she was trying to figure out what to say to Richey’s parents. His sister, Melissa, also survives him.

“We just feel so sad,” said Dulaney, 52. “You just feel so bad for his children and his wife. I just can’t imagine.”

Lt. Douglas McGee, who is stationed in Erie and worked alongside Richey as a trooper and supervisor, described Richey as a great parent, great friend and aggressive officer.

“He did everything right, by the book,” McGee said. “He was a good example of what a police officer should be, that we would like our young guys to emulate.”

Dozens of relatives, friends and troopers gathered at the home the Richeys recently built on Doerr Road, about 15 miles from the shooting scene. Among the visitors was Venango County Judge Robert Boyer, for whom Richey’s father works.

“He was a very good man, a very dedicated father, and did a very good job as a trooper,” Boyer said.

As he made arrangements for relatives to travel to Venango County from the Pittsburgh airport, McGee said police shootings are happening too often.

“It makes all of us realize that every time we kiss our loved ones goodbye, it could be for the last time,” he said. “It’s sobering to think about. You can’t dwell on it, or it would hamper your efficiency.”

Copyright 2010 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review