Police Offer $15,000 Reward For Man Who Shot Beaver Co. Officer In Vest
AMBRIDGE, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - Police are still offering a $15,000 reward in hopes of finding a man who shot a Beaver County police officer in his bulletproof vest, but so far no one is in custody.
Harmony Township Officer Alan Loskoch was briefly hospitalized after the shooting early Wednesday.
"Physically, he is doing well," Harmony Police Chief Robert Sivewright said. "We call and check on him all the time to see if he needs anything."
State police say Loskoch was on patrol when he saw a man trying to break into a car at about 3:45 a.m. The suspect shot at the officer, hitting Loskoch once in the vest over his chest. The officer returned fire through his own windshield, possibly wounding the suspect. The suspect couldn't be found even with search dogs and a state police helicopter.
Officials say a police officer from Conway was the first to arrive on the scene and found Loskoch unconscious behind the wheel of his patrol car.
The suspect is described as a light-skinned African-American male, standing 6 feet tall with 3 to 4-inch dreadlocks.
The manhunt is a combined effort involving local, county and state police, and the FBI. When Loskoch was shot Wednesday morning, there was heavy rainfall that lasted throughout the day, but Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said, "we were able to recover a lot of evidence in spite of the weather conditions."
Loskoch was hired in January as an officer in the township.
Loskoch was due to receive a statewide honor on Thursday. He's supposed to get the 2015 DUI Top Gun Award at the Pennsylvania DUI Association's annual conference.
Earlier, he was commended by Harmony Township commissioners.
In 11 months, Loskoch has make 50 of his department's 70 DUI arrests, and his cases have a 100 percent conviction rate.
In the meantime, police say they are also getting calls about whether it is safe for kids to go trick-or-treating. Chief James Mann with the Ambridge Police says trick-or-treating is still scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., and state police will be providing extra manpower to patrol the area along with the Ambridge police and fire departments.
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