After 4 Killings, ‘Officer of the Year’ Is Still on the Job

In November 2008, Pennsylvania Trooper Jay Splain was honored astatine a region instrumentality enforcement banquet arsenic a hero, the constabulary serviceman of the year. The reason: He had changeable and killed a suicidal antheral who allegedly pointed an Uzi submachine weapon astatine him.

That was the archetypal killing. Trooper Splain went connected to fatally sprout 3 much radical successful abstracted incidents, an bonzer tally for an serviceman liable for patrolling mostly agrarian areas with debased rates of convulsive crime. All 4 who died were troubled, struggling with drugs, intelligence unwellness oregon both. In 2 cases, including that of the antheral with the Uzi, household members had called the constabulary for assistance due to the fact that their relatives had threatened to termination themselves.

The astir caller decease was past month, erstwhile Trooper Splain changeable an unarmed antheral successful his Volkswagen Beetle. After learning that the serviceman had antecedently killed 3 different radical implicit astir 15 years, the man’s sister, Autumn Krouse, asked, “Why would that idiosyncratic inactive beryllium employed?”

Prosecutors and a expansive assemblage concluded that Trooper Splain’s archetypal 3 lethal shootings were justified, and an enquiry into the astir caller 1 is ongoing. Rather than person autarkic outsiders look into the killings, the constabulary bureau has conducted its ain investigations — which were led by officers from his portion — raising questions astir the rigor of the inquiries.

“When a constabulary serviceman has changeable astatine and perchance killed a civilian, the nationalist volition ne'er spot the constabulary bureau to analyse itself and beryllium unbiased,” said Tom Hogan, the erstwhile territory lawyer of Chester County, Pa. A Republican, helium helped write recommendations by the authorities prosecutors’ relation for autarkic investigations — a betterment that galore departments resist, but 1 sought by the nationalist prosecutors’ relation and large policing groups.

In its reappraisal of Trooper Splain’s killings, The New York Times recovered inconsistencies betwixt the grounds of what occurred and what the authorities constabulary said had happened. The serviceman appeared to person departed from constabulary protocols successful respective of the fatal confrontations, according to interviews and an introspection of investigative and tribunal records.

In 3 of the encounters, the radical killed were successful vehicles. The trooper changeable 2 unarmed drivers due to the fact that they were allegedly utilizing their vehicles arsenic weapons, a predominant rationale, The Times recovered successful an earlier investigation that uncovered hundreds of seemingly avoidable killings by the constabulary — often with impunity. Many ample constabulary departments ban shooting astatine moving vehicles due to the fact that it is precise often dangerous, ineffective and unnecessary.

Trooper Splain, who is connected table work until the pending enquiry is completed, did not instrumentality calls oregon reply to a missive seeking comment. The different troopers who were progressive successful the shootings oregon who led the investigations declined to remark oregon did not respond to messages. David Kennedy, the president of the authorities troopers’ union, responded connected Trooper Splain’s behalf to written questions, saying helium had acted with courageousness and “was forced to marque split-second decisions nary 1 hopes they ever person to make.”

Cpl. Brent Miller, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said, “We are assured we person the resources to analyse specified incidents thoroughly and objectively.” He referred questions connected the killings to territory attorneys. Asked whether Trooper Splain had ever faced disciplinary action, Cpl. Miller said that immoderate specified records were confidential.

All troopers progressive successful shootings indispensable be specialized grooming to measure their carnal and intelligence fittingness earlier returning to progressive duty, helium said, adding that successful immoderate cases, troopers whitethorn besides beryllium required to acquisition use-of-force grooming astatine the constabulary academy.

Darrel W. Stephens, a erstwhile longtime constabulary main who present helps tally a policing probe institute astatine Florida State University, called the 4 shootings a “red flag.”

“Four is incredibly unusual,” helium said. “That is retired determination connected the edge.” Even if the shootings tin beryllium legally justified, helium said, the signifier needs to beryllium “examined precise closely” to find wherefore the aforesaid serviceman repeatedly resorted to deadly force. “Because they can, it doesn’t mean they should,” helium said.

It’s not wide however communal it is for constabulary officers to fatally sprout aggregate radical during their careers. No database keeps track. In 2012, an officer successful Scottsdale, Ariz., retired aft his sixth fatal shooting. In 2015, a sheriff’s lawman successful Broward County, Fla., was progressive successful his 4th fatal shooting. Both officers belonged to SWAT teams, called into unsafe situations wherever gunfire is astir common.

Trooper Splain, 41, is simply a patrol serviceman who works successful mostly agrarian swaths of Pennsylvania, wherever the authorities constabulary seldom termination anyone. During his clip connected the force, helium has been liable for 4 of the 9 fatal shootings by troopers successful the 3 counties wherever they occurred, according to a Times investigation of cases identified by the probe radical Fatal Encounters. The killings by Trooper Splain were reported by section quality outlets, though helium was mentioned by sanction lone successful 1 case.

From a young age, Jay Splain seemed inspired by the military. The lad of a radiologist and a nurse, helium grew up successful Allentown, Pa., and attended the elite Hill prep schoolhouse extracurricular Philadelphia. He belonged to the school’s weapon club. His elder yearbook leafage pictured him holding a rifle, cited the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps and quoted Stonewall Jackson, the Confederate general, twice.

He went connected to the Virginia Military Institute, wherever Jackson had erstwhile been an artillery instructor. Jay Splain enrolled successful a subject serviceman grooming program, joined the school’s competitory firearm squad and the Semper Fi Society, and referred to his “warrior image” successful his assemblage yearbook bio.

But successful 2004 Mr. Splain became a authorities trooper, with duties similar making D.U.I. arrests, tracking down thieves and, connected 1 occasion, catching a fishy successful “a paintball incident,” authorities constabulary newsletters show. His erstwhile assemblage roommate, Army Lt. Col. Nicholas Shallcross, said that his ambitions had shifted during assemblage from the subject to instrumentality enforcement.

Trooper Splain, the lieutenant colonel said, saw himself arsenic “a protector.”

A Call For Help

In July 2007, Joseph Rotkewicz, 37, who had bipolar disorder, took 2 of his brother’s guns into a country of his family’s location and repeatedly threatened to termination himself, pointing a weapon astatine his head. His begetter had precocious died, and his woman had had an matter with his champion friend.

For an hour, his sister, Linda Hunsicker, and a friend, Hans Frendt, tried to speech him down, Ms. Hunsicker recalled successful an interview. Then Mr. Rotkewicz fired astatine slightest 2 shots astatine the ceiling. Ms. Hunsicker said her member ne'er threatened her oregon Mr. Frendt.

“He conscionable kept begging maine not to telephone the cops,” she recalled successful an interview. “I privation I would person listened.”

Emergency operators told her to spell outside; the 2 men stayed indoors. Mr. Rotkewicz utilized electrical portion to strap the Uzi to his cervix and chest, truthful the tube pointed up astatine his chin, Mr. Frendt aboriginal said.

At astir 5 p.m., astatine slightest a twelve authorities troopers showed up, Ms. Hunsicker recalled; a specially trained SWAT-style negotiating squad typically responds to specified situations. Police tried erstwhile to telephone the house, but Ms. Hunsicker had brought the cordless telephone retired with her.

With a idiosyncratic threatening to harm lone himself, “the overarching rule is, dilatory things down and don’t unit a confrontation,” said Ashley Heiberger, a advisor to constabulary departments and a erstwhile skipper successful Bethlehem, Pa.

Entering a location to situation idiosyncratic threatening termination “is not accordant with mostly accepted instrumentality enforcement practices,” helium added, “and bully officers and bully agencies person been emphasizing these concepts and principles for decades.”

Current Pennsylvania State Police regulations telephone for troopers dealing with idiosyncratic who is mentally sick to “take steps to calm/de-escalate the situation, erstwhile feasible,” and to “assume a quiet, nonthreatening manner.”

Ms. Hunsicker said nary 1 had utilized a bullhorn oregon tried different ways to resoluteness her brother’s situation peacefully. Instead, Trooper Splain and different trooper yet entered the house. Mr. Frendt, inactive inside, aboriginal told the lawman coroner that the troopers ordered him to leave, the coroner’s study said.

On his mode out, helium heard 1 of them request that Mr. Rotkewicz drop his weapon, followed by 2 gunshots, the study said.

Trooper Splain changeable Mr. Rotkewicz doubly successful the chest, records show. Pennsylvania State Police aboriginal said that Mr. Rotkewicz had pointed the Uzi astatine Trooper Splain.

For this, his portion named him trooper of the year. In a missive aboriginal nominating Trooper Splain for the Lehigh County serviceman of the year, his commanding serviceman wrote that Mr. Rotkewicz had a “history of intelligence disease” and was “threatening his beingness and the lives of others.”

Trooper Splain had seen Mr. Rotkewicz holding the Uzi beneath his chin, the missive said, but it did not notation immoderate electrical tape. The missive past said Mr. Rotkewicz “ignored repeated orders from Trooper Splain to halt and driblet the firearm” and “lowered the weapon forward” toward the trooper.

In a tribunal filing years later, a lawyer for the authorities police acknowledged that Mr. Rotkewicz had affixed the Uzi “to his thorax and cervix by means of the achromatic colored electrical tape.” Although it’s imaginable Mr. Rotkewicz broke the tape, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy wrote, “The portion has been wrapped respective times astir the cervix and is kinked successful respective areas.”

The Pennsylvania State Police typically delegate a pb researcher from the aforesaid troop’s large lawsuit squad to pb the transgression inquiry. At the time, Trooper Splain worked retired of the office of Troop M — the aforesaid barracks arsenic the pb investigator.

Joseph Kuhns, a criminologist astatine the University of North Carolina successful Charlotte who did a survey for the Major Cities Chiefs Association connected investigations of constabulary shootings, called it “highly unusual” to delegate officers from the aforesaid portion to analyse a shooting.

For astir 10 years, the authorities constabulary resisted Ms. Hunsicker’s efforts to get the constabulary investigative report so she could find retired what happened to her brother. In a tribunal filing, her lawyer said the police’s refusal to supply the study was an effort to “cover up wrongful conduct.” She didn’t cognize the sanction of the serviceman who killed her member until a Times newsman told her.

James B. Martin, a Republican who is the longtime territory lawyer of Lehigh County, said successful an interrogation that, aft gathering with the pb investigator, helium had ruled the shooting justified — a determination helium called a “no-brainer.” He said helium did not callback immoderate claims that the weapon had been taped to Mr. Rotkewicz.

Mr. Martin saw thing incorrect with allowing the constabulary to analyse themselves.

“The Pennsylvania State Police is simply a unit of 4,500 precise well-qualified constabulary officers who bash an fantabulous job, and their integrity, arsenic acold arsenic I’m concerned, is beyond reproach,” helium said.

A Different Choice

On a Saturday successful May 2017, Anthony Ardo threatened to termination himself by blowing his caput disconnected with an explosive. Addicted to drugs for years, the 47-year-old was reeling aft a breakup and being evicted by his mother, Jean Monaghan. After she called 911 seeking assistance for him, Trooper Splain and a inferior trooper, Eddie Pagan, came to her household workplace and persuaded her to lure him back.

Mr. Ardo pulled up but past appeared to reverse his Buick Reatta, according to the officers’ accounts. Rather than fto him go, the troopers ran retired the backmost doorway and got successful their 2 patrol cars, hidden from view. They trapped the Buick betwixt their cruisers, hopped retired and drew their firearms, the troopers told constabulary investigators.

Within seconds, the troopers began shooting, according to Ms. Monaghan. Lawyers for Ms. Monaghan said they judge that Trooper Splain, who fired 9 times, killed Mr. Ardo with the past 3 bullets. The troopers aboriginal said they feared for their lives, according to tribunal filings, as Mr. Ardo, sitting successful the driver’s seat, appeared to beryllium lighting thing astir his neck. That turned retired to beryllium a communal aerial firework.

In an interview, the dormant man’s parent wondered wherefore the officers hadn’t tried to de-escalate the concern by stepping away. “They rushed him and didn’t adjacent springiness him a chance,” said Ms. Monaghan, who said she watched the confrontation from her model and aboriginal filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. She added, “They were successful nary mode successful harm’s mode if they would person conscionable backed up and near him alone.”

The review by The Times of hundreds of killings of unarmed motorists by constabulary recovered that mental wellness crises were a recurring theme. In astatine slightest 10 cases, callers asked the constabulary to cheque connected the payment of radical threatening termination oregon struggling from intelligence illness. Instead, the responding officers changeable the drivers and aboriginal claimed they feared that they oregon idiosyncratic other would beryllium tally over.

Cpl. Miller said troopers usage “their discretion to measure the existent concern and resources disposable to them for each incident.” He said the bureau couldn’t remark connected pending litigation.

Within an hr of Mr. Ardo’s shooting, a authorities constabulary lieutenant called John Morganelli, the territory lawyer successful Northampton County and a Democrat, to inquire however the authoritative wanted to grip the investigation, according to a grand-jury study aboriginal made public. Mr. Morganelli decided his bureau would instrumentality the pb and assigned a region detective.

But the lieutenant soon told Mr. Morganelli that his higher-up bosses “would not output the transgression investigation,” the study said.

Apparently due to the fact that of that dispute, nary 1 interviewed either trooper for astir a month. During that time, the 2 men talked to each different and watched dash-camera videos of the shooting, they acknowledged later. Law enforcement experts pass that allowing officers to stock accusation earlier interviews tin pb them to align their stories.

Trooper Splain disclosed his earlier fatal shooting to Trooper Pagan, some men said successful depositions. “Most of the conversations revolved astir him giving maine proposal arsenic to however to grip the stress,” Trooper Pagan said.

State constabulary assigned an researcher from Troop M’s large lawsuit squad to pb the inquiry. Superior officers aboriginal told the expansive assemblage that they trust connected investigating troopers to study immoderate imaginable conflicts of interest.

Trooper Michael Everk, the pb investigator, declined to remark for this article. He had worked with Trooper Splain connected a marijuana bust, authorities constabulary newsletters show. While interviewing the troopers, Trooper Everk referred to Trooper Pagan arsenic “Eddie” respective times alternatively of speaking much formally, arsenic helium did successful different interviews.

Mr. Morganelli brought the lawsuit to a expansive jury, which concluded that the shooting was justified. But the jurors besides issued a second, nationalist report accusing authorities constabulary leaders of a “somewhat arrogant presumption of superiority” implicit different instrumentality enforcement agencies. The sheet besides recovered investigators gave troopers “special treatment” that is “not mostly afforded to others who are the taxable of a transgression investigation.”

The adjacent year, Trooper Splain was moved to Troop L successful Lebanon County.

‘The Gravest of Situations’

Pier Hess Graf, the Lebanon County territory attorney, hosts an yearly fund-raiser, “Back the Blue,” for a Pennsylvania nonprofit that helps the families of slain officers. Her hubby is simply a authorities constabulary corporal.

Advocates of reform accidental specified evident conflicts of involvement item the request for independent, arms-length transgression investigations into killings by the police. Some constabulary departments present telephone successful territory attorneys from neighboring counties, others person autarkic units to analyse fatalities. In caller years, states including California, New Jersey, and New York shifted galore of these investigations to the authorities lawyer general’s office.

But past year, Ms. Graf oversaw an investigation into different fatal shooting involving Trooper Splain. At the time, her hubby was based successful the aforesaid barracks.

Early connected March 16, 2020, Charity Thome, 42, who had intelligence unwellness and cause addiction, fled officers aft she was caught trying to interruption into her erstwhile home, records show.

Officer Ryan Haase of the North Lebanon Police Department started pursuing her Honda Accord; helium soon told dispatchers helium was ending the pursuit because, with fewer cars connected the roadworthy astatine that hour, the pistillate was not endangering the public.

But past Trooper Splain and a rookie, Trooper Matthew Haber, joined him. Ms. Thome led the constabulary connected a “lengthy high-speed chase,” Ms. Graf, the territory attorney, said later, with “no respect for postulation lights, signs, constabulary sirens, different vehicles connected the roadway oregon the information of the wide public.”

Many constabulary departments prohibition high-speed pursuits of nonviolent offenders, particularly if officers cognize who they are and tin find them later. Instead, records show, Trooper Splain performed a risky maneuver to unit Ms. Thome to stop.

The Accord spun retired into a field. Ms. Thome past drove into Officer Haase’s S.U.V. The 2 troopers jumped retired of their vehicle, guns drawn. “Stop, stop, get retired of the car, amusement maine your hands,” Trooper Splain recalled shouting, according to a constabulary interrogation quoted successful a suit filed by Ms. Thome’s family.

He fired first, followed by the rookie. Ms. Thome, deed 7 times, died astir instantly, according to the lawsuit.

In an April 2020 property merchandise describing the killing, Ms. Graf, the prosecutor, said Ms. Thome “accelerated guardant and drove into” the officer’s vehicle. The merchandise besides described Troopers Splain and Haber arsenic saying they feared aggregate outcomes, including Ms. Thome reversing and moving implicit officers oregon continuing “to ram” the S.U.V.

But Officer Haase estimated her velocity to beryllium 5 miles an hour, adding that helium was much disquieted astir harm to his conveyance than astir his safety, according to his interviews with constabulary included successful the lawsuit. Neither vehicle’s airbags deployed, the suit said; a photograph showed that the S.U.V. sustained minimal damage.

No constabulary commands could beryllium heard successful a dash-camera video. Trooper Splain told constabulary 30 seconds had elapsed betwixt his leaving the car and shooting. The video, included successful the lawsuit, shows it took lone a fewer seconds.

“Their occupation was to speech her retired of the conveyance and into safety,” said Thomas Kline, a lawyer for Ms. Thome’s family. “And instead, they did conscionable the opposite, which was to occurrence aggregate rounds of bullets into her pinned-down vehicle, leaving her defenseless and tragically dead.”

In the release, Ms. Graf said she had assigned her detective bureau to oversee the investigation, which progressive respective agencies. It drew connected the authorities constabulary inquiry, which was led by an researcher based retired of the aforesaid unit arsenic Trooper Splain, The Times found.

Ms. Graf had determined that the shooting was justified aft astir a period — a comparatively accelerated decision compared to akin inquiries reviewed by reporters. In effect to questions from The Times, Ms. Graf didn’t code immoderate imaginable struggle of involvement and said she stood by her decisions.

“Law enforcement progressive successful this lawsuit committed the astir superior quality enactment — they took a life,” Ms. Graf said successful the property merchandise announcing her ruling. She added, “They did truthful knowing the usage of deadly unit is indispensable successful lone the gravest of situations.”

The 4th Killing

Andy Dzwonchyk, a 40-year-old metallic idiosyncratic who had erstwhile been named “loudest laugh” and voted president of his precocious schoolhouse class, was unraveling by November.

Amy Hastings, his woman of 20 years, had left, weary of his cause use. She obtained a extortion bid aft helium badgered her to travel backmost and talked of sidesplitting himself successful beforehand of their 2 sons if she did not return. “Andy ne'er threatened maine oregon the kids,” Ms. Hastings said successful an interview.

At astir 10:40 p.m. connected Nov. 7, Ms. Hastings called 911 due to the fact that Mr. Dzwonchyk kept texting, successful usurpation of the order. Two troopers showed up, including Jay Splain.

While Ms. Hastings talked to them, Mr. Dzwonchyk, who was caring for their sons, texted again, saying helium needed a thermometer for 1 boy, who was sick, Ms. Hastings recalled. She went wrong due to the fact that it was cold. Then Mr. Dzwonchyk, who lived down the roadworthy from wherever she was staying, drove up.

The troopers tried to apprehension Mr. Dzwonchyk successful his car, but a conflict ensued, according to a constabulary spokesperson astatine a property league the adjacent morning. Trooper David Beohm said 1 serviceman had gotten caught wrong the vehicle, which precocious and reversed, dragging him, though helium was not injured.

“It wasn’t similar a existent accelerated back-and-forth,” Trooper Beohm said.

Mr. Dzwonchyk’s 1999 Beetle was a stick-shift, making it hard to spell guardant and backward quickly. Attempts to subdue Mr. Dzwonchyk with a Taser didn’t work, according to the spokesman. Only then, helium said, did the different serviceman occurrence his weapon.

That was Trooper Splain.

Julie Tate and Seamus McGraw contributed reporting.