Pa. game warden killed in the line of duty

Mark Scolforo, Associated Press – 10 mins ago


GETTYSBURG, Pa. – A game warden was killed in a shootout with a suspected poacher, but the officer had called in the suspect's license plate before the gunfire, leading to an arrest, officials said Friday.

David Grove, a 31-year-old wildlife conservation officer from Fairfield, was fatally shot after he pulled over 27-year-old Christopher Lynn Johnson late Thursday night near Gettysburg, police said. Johnson was arrested at a hunting camp Friday morning, about 11 hours after the shooting, investigators said. Police said he had an apparent gunshot wound.

The license plate that Grove was able to call in "was a critical piece of information," said State Police Commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski.

"That gave us somewhere to go," Pawlowski said.

Grove was the first game warden killed in the line of duty in 95 years.

Johnson was in police custody at a hospital awaiting arraignment. He faces charges including murder and fleeing apprehension as well as weapons and game offenses. Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner said he would likely seek the death penalty.

Grove was investigating reports of nighttime hunting when he pulled over Johnson and a passenger around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, investigators said. Gunfire broke out, and Johnson and the passenger fled.

Authorities said Johnson abandoned his vehicle at some point and was limping on foot when he flagged down a motorist and asked for help. The motorist took him to a hunting camp that Johnson knew about, and police were waiting when he arrived.

Police said a dead deer was found near where Grove was killed.

"This was a malicious act," Pennsylvania Game Commissioner spokesman Jerry Feaser told The Associated Press.

Commission executive director Carl Roe called Grove "a bright, young officer" dedicated to promoting Pennsylvania's hunting heritage.

"Our prayers and thoughts go out to WCO Grove's family and friends, as we mourn the loss of one of our own," he said.

The last game commission officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty was Joseph McHugh in Weatherly, Carbon County, on Nov. 7, 1915.

All for the sake of a deer!

Someone's going to prison for a long long time.

quote:

All for the sake of a deer!

I can remember many years ago here in Houston police chased a shoplifter into traffic on highway 59. He was struck and killed by a car when he tried to cross the lanes. He had taken a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. Things get sideways really quick when people think they are at the end of their rope. The guy may have been a total asshole, or he may have been trying to feed three little boys at home. I hope the officers family pulls through.

Dave, was a good man. Met him many times and was glad to have known him. Terrible shame - I feel very bad for his family.

The suspect has a bullet wound and based on records obtained an extensive felony record.

poachers hunting to feed their families is the biggest myth in America.....

I spent 26 years in wildlife law enforcement and arrested well over a hundred night hunters. I remember exactly ONE of them hunting because they NEEDED the meat. I let him go....

It's hard to rationalize the NEED for meat when you are night hunting from an expensive truck, with a nice rifle, and belong to a hunting club....

prayers to the Officers family, friends, and fellow Officers.

troy

Capital case. I hope this guy gets the needle. What a shame!

How damn stupid to you have to be to go from poacher to murderer? I just don't understand how someone can make that kind of leap.

quote:

poachers hunting to feed their families is the biggest myth in America.....

Happens all the time here in Texas. You have all types of poachers with all types of reasons, and very few of them are reasonable excuses. I've known people here that were tickled pink to pick up someone elses roadkill deer.

Agree 100% with Dtala! I've sat in the general store too many times while some local in $100+ boots, whined "ah'm just trying to feed my family". The only fly in the ointment was that he was driving a late model truck (lift kit, of course) with big off-road tires and was shooting a high end rifle with a top dollar scope.
Perhaps it's like Mark Twain said. A stolen watermelon tastes better than a boughten one.

I truly hope the fellow doesn't spend a lot of time in prison. 6 months max before he takes his last ride.

A needle would be too good for this sorry excuse for a human. I vote that he gets a firing squad execution. This is very close to my home and I shall send prayers for this brave officer and his family.

Sorry smarterthanu, that's the same bullshit line we used to hear in East Texas,when the f&%*ing poachers would run their dogs across our lease. Put a stop to that buy killing their dogs and having an armed confrontation w/ them. They lost,15 hunters to 5 or 6 poachers put them in their place! Never had an issue w/ them again. Happened near Cleveland, TX about 20yrs ago. Same BS. You need to feed your family, get a Friggin job , like the rest of us!

quote:

Sorry smarterthanu, that's the same bullshit line we used to hear in East Texas,when the f&%*ing poachers would run their dogs across our lease. Put a stop to that buy killing their dogs and having an armed confrontation w/ them. They lost,15 hunters to 5 or 6 poachers put them in their place! Never had an issue w/ them again. Happened near Cleveland, TX about 20yrs ago. Same BS. You need to feed your family, get a Friggin job , like the rest of us!

Apples and oranges Kingd, and I don't think you understand what I am talking about. If you haven't noticed there aren't a lot of jobs to be got out there. I am not saying that poachers aren't being dirtbags. What I am saying is you can get in situations where people are just trying to eat especially with the current economic atmosphere. Just because the one time you shot a poachers dog you judged his motives as you saw fit doesn't mean every poacher is in the same situation. More than likely the asshole that shot the gamewarden will get what he deserves through the PA courts. Lets not be reactionaries and let the system take care of dirtbags when they pop up.

smarter...ever hear of welfare? Lots of government programs and church run food kitchens EVERYWHERE.....there is NEVER a need to get food for your family by illegal activity....NEVER! Get it? Do you understand?? Do you...or anyone else you know...know of a single person that starved to death because they were refused or turned away when they asked for help to feed themselves or their family? Really? Stop making excuses for the dirtbags of this country. Plus, when the court system plays its role, someone already lost something of great value....like their life. The economy ain't that bad that people can't find work or money FOR FOOD....step back and have a reality check dude! This ain't even close to the depression of the twenties/thirties.

Hairbol,

Has anybody set up a trust fund for his family? Does he have any children?

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
smarter...ever hear of welfare? Lots of government programs and church run food kitchens EVERYWHERE.....there is NEVER a need to get food for your family by illegal activity....NEVER! Get it? Do you understand?? Do you...or anyone else you know...know of a single person that starved to death because they were refused or turned away when they asked for help to feed themselves or their family? Really? Stop making excuses for the dirtbags of this country. Plus, when the court system plays its role, someone already lost something of great value....like their life. The economy ain't that bad that people can't find work or money FOR FOOD....step back and have a reality check dude! This ain't even close to the depression of the twenties/thirties.

Agree 100%......and I'll add STOP having kids you can't afford to care for!!!! It's not that there aren't enough jobs.....there's too many damn people!

quote:

ever hear of welfare?

I'll poach a deer before I stand in line for the government handout. Maybe you are that comfortable living on the government tit but I never will. I am not making excuses for anyone. I am trying to tell you be careful how you judge people off of a one sided news thread. Someone might be reading about you one day when you were at the end of your rope.

smarterthanu,

Congrats on being the 5th person on my ignore list.

quote:

Congrats on being the 5th person on my ignore list

Not the first time I traded in popularity for dignity and truth.

Oops, the ignore didn't take...will have to re-click it...

No you traded stupidity and ego by comitting a crime and risking going to jail for your pride and then you won't be able to help your family.

BTW, there is no discussion of truth here, opinion yes, truth no. So you may want to work work on your reading comprehension skills.

quote:

Oops, the ignore didn't take...will have to re-click it...

No you traded stupidity and ego by comitting a crime and risking going to jail for your pride and then you won't be able to help your family.

BTW, there is no discussion of truth here, opinion yes, truth no. So you may want to work work on your reading comprehension skills.

Mike

Oops, I love it when some internet asshole threatens to put you on ignore then comes back because he just has to have the last word. amateur.

quote:

BTW, there is no discussion of truth here

The truth was when I told you I would poach a deer before standing in a welfare line. That's not about pride, its dignity, feel free to try it anytime. It feels good. The lie was your post saying I was on ignore. My reading comprehension is fine. Yours may need some work.

Here's the link to odmp.org

http://www.odmp.org/officer/20...-officer-david-grove

Smarter, you need to change you sign to "dumbass".
When you can't feed your family, you have no right to talk about dignity nor pride. You're a leech. And there is only one person to blame. That'd be you.
I see plenty of signs asking for help. Are they jobs that would address your pride and dignity? Do they pay you what you think you're worth? Undoubtedly not. But if the wages aren't high enough to tend to your family, get two of the jobs.
That's what I did over the years if things got tough. It never entered my mind to poach nor steal nor rob. But, apparently, I was raised different from you.
I do remember my dad selling his deer rifle so we could pay the doctor bills for my little sister.

quote:

Smarter, you need to change you sign to "dumbass".
When you can't feed your family, you have no right to talk about dignity nor pride. You're a leech. And there is only one person to blame. That'd be you.
I see plenty of signs asking for help. Are they jobs that would address your pride and dignity? Do they pay you what you think you're worth? Undoubtedly not. But if the wages aren't high enough to tend to your family, get two of the jobs.
That's what I did over the years if things got tough. It never entered my mind to poach nor steal nor rob. But, apparently, I was raised different from you.
I do remember my dad selling his deer rifle so we could pay the doctor bills for my little sister.

Ah..... the boasting of the self righteous. How does not being able to feed a family automaticly make you a leech? Does that make sense? Plenty of good hard workers find themselves in a jam and its good to know you can so quickly look down your nose at them.

Those that pay INTO the system shall NEVER feel guilty to feed FROM it. My last words on the subject.

SmarterThanU,

The twenty-something kids have coined a new phrase for people like you. It's an amalgam of two words; Fucking and Retarded. FuckTard. There's a movement afoot to get it into the new dictionary. They would like to nail it down by posting your picture. Is that okay with you?

Only an FT would post something so anal as I'll break the law and kill some LEO if I choose to do so to rather than man up; or rather than go on welfare to take care of my family. If they catch you your family will be on welfare. You'll be in jail.

One other thing: taking of your family is not "self righteous" it's called your responsibility as a husband and father.

You are one really one Class A piece of shit masquerading as a human being.

regards,

Rich

I thought this was about David Grove, a 31-year-old wildlife conservation officer from Fairfield and not anyones opinions or thoughts on other topic???
I'm just saying.

quote:

Originally posted by Nebraska Bob:
I thought this was about David Grove, a 31-year-old wildlife conservation officer from Fairfield and not anyones opinions or thoughts on other topic???
I'm just saying.

Indeed. It's amazing how quickly these topics go to hell in a handbasket.

quote:

Only an FT would post something so anal as I'll break the law and kill some LEO

Why don't you quote me where I said it was OK to shoot an LEO, you fucking idiot. Speaking of FuckTard learn how to read. All I have promoted here was letting the justice system take care of this guy. And for the quote about self-righteous, if you want to look down your nose at someone fired from his job then yes you are being a selfrighteous snob. Think before you start talking smack.

Wow, this has gone sideways. I read the original post and find it sad that this LEO was killed in the line of duty. I've always thought it was a very dangerous job, in the middle of nowhere, likely no witnesses to keep people in line, probably this person had a record and got desperate. I was stopped a few years ago by a ranger who was checking due to some poaching in the area, he seemed jumpy/anxious. I'm not surprised now.

As to the direction the thread is going, I am a firm believer too that theft is never necessary in modern society. And although it is I am sure embarrassing, and maybe emasculating to have to go on welfare/disability/unemployment, I agree with the poster that said if you have paid in then you shouldn't feel bad. I've been paying into the system since I was 15 years old, and have taken 2 weeks of disability in the 18 years since. I don't feel bad about it. Rather, I begrudge the people that feed off the system longer than they have paid into it.

As a man would I poach before I'd take assistance? No. Ultimately being a criminal would be more embarrassing I feel to my kids than if I just had to get some help getting back on my feet. Especially when you consider that poaching is likely more expensive than it is worth, gas+time+ammo being what it is.

Red

C.L. Johnson was a convicted felon either on parole or probation and would have been in violation had he been stopped with a weapon. Hopefully the justice system will dispense just that, I am not holding my breath though. So back to the more important subject of whether you would poach an animal before getting on the dole, I would. How about the rest of you boastful internet warriors? ISS, haven't I heard you threaten to kill other posters for less than this?

http://www.therecordherald.com...O-David-Groves-death

An alleged deer poacher and convicted felon who was seen spotlighting in Adams County Thursday night faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of wildlife conservation officer David Grove.

The suspect admitted to police that he shot Grove because he was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and did not want to go back to jail, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

Christopher Lynn Johnson, 27, of 16 Ski Run Trail in Fairfield reportedly shot Grove four times with a handgun as Grove tried to handcuff him. Grove managed to shoot Johnson in the hip before Johnson fired the fatal shot that hit his neck around 10:30 p.m. Thursday on Schriver Road in Freedom Township, near Eisenhower National Historic Site. Johnson later told police he shot the handcuffs off his wrist and threw the gun into the woods.

A spiked buck was found dead in the area after the shooting.

Grove served with the game commission in Franklin County from 2001 to 2007 and is the first Pennsylvania Game Commission officer to be killed in the line of duty since 1915. Grove covered district 4-01-2 or southern Adams County. PSP Commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said Grove’s coworkers told him Grove “religiously” wore a bulletproof vest on duty.

“This is particularly dangerous work. The officers are out there on lonely, dark roads and dealing with individuals that are armed,” Pawlowski said at a press conference in Gettysburg Friday. “This is the nature of they work they face every single day.”

Deadly confrontation

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Grove, 31, of Fairfield and formerly of Waynesboro, had been investigating reports of ongoing nighttime shooting and possible poaching in the area. Police said he heard some gunshots and saw a spotlight on the dark roads near the historic site. Grove drove toward the truck that fled for a short time before pulling over, the affidavit said.

Grove told Johnson to throw the keys out the truck’s window, according to 19-year-old Ryan Laumann, the passenger in Johnson’s truck. Laumann told police Johnson said he was not going back to jail.

Johnson and Laumann exited the vehicle. Grove told Johnson to walk backwards toward him and he asked Grove what this was about as Grove snapped handcuffs on his wrists. Laumann told police he heard loud pops and as he fell to the ground, saw Johnson firing his gun at Grove. Both Grove and Johnson fell to the ground. Johnson got up, told Laumann he had been shot and they fled without helping Grove, who was lying on the ground behind his cruiser, according to court documents.

“Officer Grove ordered Johnson and a passenger out of the vehicle. He ordered them to stay there and was waiting for his backup when a confrontation ensued. There was an apparent struggle around the car before the exchange of gunfire,” Pawlowski said Friday.

By the time backup arrived two minutes later, Grove was already dead at the scene. His autopsy was performed Friday in Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Allentown.

Pawlowski added that police do not know who fired first.

Laumann told police he repeatedly insisted Johnson let him out of the vehicle after they left Grove lying on the ground near his cruiser. Johnson stopped and Laumann exited the vehicle.

Chance capture

At approximately 9:40 a.m. Friday, PSP troopers located Johnson in Franklin Township, Adams County.

Johnson was walking along a Franklin Township road Friday morning when a passing driver noticed he was limping and asked him if he needed help, Pawlowski said. Johnson told the driver he hurt his hip, and the driver took him to a hunting camp on Orrtanna Road that Johnson was associated with.

Police were waiting for him there thanks to some investigative leads. Johnson’s pickup truck was also found nearby. He was treated for his wounds in York Hospital and was arraigned by videoconference Friday by Magisterial District Justice Mark Beauchat.

Johnson faces charges of first-degree murder for intentionally killing a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, person not to possess a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, flight to avoid apprehension, possessing an instrument of crime and various violations of game and wildlife code. According to online court records, Johnson’s criminal history includes charges of burglary, endangering the welfare of children and fleeing and eluding police.

Police have no information to suggest there is anyone else wanted in this investigation, which remains ongoing.

“When an officer is intentionally killed in the line of duty, that is grounds to seek the death penalty,” Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner said at the press conference.

If all dialogue and testimony proves to be true Johnson here is going to have a hell of a time dodging the needle, and Laumann is going to have a meaningful relationship in a correctional facility.

quote:

Originally posted by reddy375:
All for the sake of a deer!

I think this really says it best! Are you kidding me, its just a freakin deer.

stylish way to tuck your tail between your legs and not admit you were wrong.

This is about someone murdering a LEO.

Rich
hanging would be too merciful a way to die

quote:

stylish way to tuck your tail between your legs and not admit you were wrong.

This is about someone murdering a LEO.

Really? I think you learned you shouldn't take English lessons from kids, and you needed to go back and read my posts. I haven't been wrong yet. I retract nothing I said and you are still a shit talking idiot.

quote:

I think this really says it best! Are you kidding me, its just a freakin deer.

Aaron,
It is actually about a convicted felon not wanting to get sent up river for being in possession of a firearm.

505 has it exactly right. The Officer was unlucky enough to meet someone who was NOT going back and would do anything to keep from going back.

Not all, but a lot of the serious poachers that I delt with also had criminal records in other areas besides game and fish. I ran most of them thru NCIC at stop time or sometimes later at paperwork time. It was amazing to see just what kind of person you were dealing with. Anything and everything.

But smarterthanyou, I can count on one hand the poachers that I delt with that had no other means of supplying meat to their families. They just LIKED to do things the illegal way. They spent more time and money hunting illegally that it would of cost them to do it legally, esp when you counted the tremendous(to them) fines most of them got over time.

Certainly not all illegal hunters get caught every year, but I don't now of a single serious poacher that we failed to catch at least once, and we made sure the judge knew their past activities at sentencing time.

troy

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:

quote:

I think this really says it best! Are you kidding me, its just a freakin deer.

Aaron,
It is actually about a convicted felon not wanting to get sent up river for being in possession of a firearm.

Ya, I am sure you're right. Either way though, its pathetic!!!