Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Ralph Tatoian

[DrePol]

Trooper dies responding to search for suspect in robbery, shooting
Associated Press
04/20/2005

PACIFIC, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri state trooper was killed Wednesday when his patrol car slammed into the back of a semitrailer on Interstate 44 while he was responding to a search for a robbery suspect said to have shot a sheriff's deputy.

Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Ralph Tatoian, age unavailable, died in the crash about 4:30 a.m. near Pacific, west of St. Louis, said Julie Scerini, a patrol spokeswoman.

Scerini said Tatoian -- a 10-year veteran of the patrol -- was responding to a Franklin County search for a man who hours earlier shot a deputy investigating a robbery in Mount Sterling in neighboring Gasconade County.

In the robbery, investigators told St. Louis' KSDK-TV that the bullet grazed the deputy's head and that he was taken to a hospital. Deputies chased the suspect onto U.S. 50, eventually managing to flatten one of his car's tires. The suspect then bolted on foot into a wooded area but was caught about 6 a.m.

Tatoian is survived by a wife and three children, Scerini said.

[C.Bell]

Pacific, MO (KMOV) – A ten-year veteran of the Misouri Highway Patrol is dead following an accident early Tuesday morning on Interstate 44 near the St. Louis County – Franklin County line.

The accident happened in the westbound lanes of the Interstate 44 near Pacific around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The trooper that was killed is identified as Ralph Tatoin, 32, a 10-year veteran of the patrol and a member of the SWAT team. Tatoin is from St. Louis and is survived by his wife and four children, including a new baby.

Cpl. Al Nothum of the highway patrol says that Tatoin was on his way to Franklin County to assist with a manhunt. Tatoin is believed to have been driving at a high rate of speed when he came up on a tractor-trailer that was stopped on the inside lanes of I-44. That trucker has stopped to assist the victim of a single car accident that had happened moments earlier. The trooper's car slammed into and then went under the semi's trailer killing Tatoin.

In Franklin County, the man police were searching for has been taken into custody.

Around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning Gasconade County received a 911 call about an armed robbery at a Mount Sterling Store.

Two deputies responded and exchanged gunfire with the robbery suspect. One deputy was hit, grazed by a bullet on the side of the head. The Gascondade County Sheriff says he will be OK. The suspect drove away toward Franklin County. Police say he ran from his car near Gerald, Missouri.

[Mo Trooper]

Another one.

Ralph was a classmate of mine who I had a chance to talk to for awhile at the investigation site of our Sgt that was murdered a couple of weeks ago. Another funeral. :(

[OH2FL]

May God Bless this Troopers family.
And Bless you "Mo Trooper", our friend, in this year of violence and suffering in your Agency. Please keep safe for all of us that look to you for your wisdom and guidance.
Mike


Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Killed On Way To Manhunt
Created: 4/20/2005 5:34:37 AM
Updated: 4/20/2005 5:02:15 PM

Video from News Story ~
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=78302

(KSDK) - A veteran of the Missouri Highway Patrol is dead after crashing on his way to a manhunt in Franklin County.

Ralph Tatoian, 32, hit the back of a semi on westbound Interstate 44 near Pacific early Wednesday morning.

The truck driver had pulled over to help another driver, but the truck's trailer was still partially on the highway.

Tatoian couldn't swerve in time to avoid the crash.

Tatoian, a member of the patrol's SWAT team, was headed to Franklin County, where authorities were searching for a violent armed robbery suspect.

The deputy was investigating a burglary inside a building when he was shot.

Deputies say the bullet just grazed his head. He was taken to an area hospital where he is in good condition. Deputies say they chased the suspect onto Highway 50 and into Franklin County.

Investigators say the suspect shot a deputy in Gasconade County, then fled to Franklin County where stop sticks punctured his tires.

The suspect ditched the car and ran into some woods, where deputies found him around 6:00 a.m.

The deputy who was shot wasn't seriously hurt.

Interstate 44 was closed in both directions for several, but was opened to traffic around 10:30 a.m.

Tatoian was a 10 year veteran of the Missouri Highway Patrol. He leaves behind a wife and three children, including a newborn.

This has been an especially difficult several months for troopers. Trooper Carl Graham was shot and killed last month in Van Buren, Missouri.

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of accidental deaths for law enforcement officers across the country.

Nationwide, from 1994 through 2003, 697 lawmen died from on-the-job accidents. 388 fatalities were caused by automobile crashes.

Second on the list is officers being hit by vehicles. 116 died that way.

The third leading cause of death is motorcycle crashes, which killed 58 officers during the ten-year period.

Ralph Tatoian Memorial Fund
Any Bank Of America

M.A.S.T.E.R.S.
5286 Highway 67 North
Poplar Bluff, Mo 63901

KSDK

[DallasTX]

Can they charge that guy somehow for the troopers death? I mean the armed robber not the trucker.

[Bearcat06]

Not yet. But he's not going anywhere. He's being held ok a 500K bond in the Franklin County Missouri Jail.

[rdtrooper]

Seems like the MHP has had a rough way to go over the last few months. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who've lost a loved one and to those troopers who are left standing to work another day.