State trooper charged in shooting of Temple grad and colleague

A state trooper was charged with five counts of reckless endangerment on Tuesday for his fatal shooting of a colleague who was a Temple and Roman Catholic high school graduate, the Inquirer reported.

Corporal Richard Schroeter, who was training five new state troopers at the Public Safety Training Campus on Sept. 30, was explaining trigger mechanics when he pulled the trigger of his duty-issued firearm. The shot struck Officer David Kedra in the abdomen.

Kedra’s older brother, Kevin, said Tuesday that the family is unsatisfied with the charges and is arranging a statement to be released to the media and governor.

The shooting occurred three weeks after Eric Frein had fatally shot one trooper and seriously injured another in Pike County. By Sept. 30, hundreds of officers were searching the Poconos for Frein.

After the investigation of Schroeter’s case – which spanned several months following Kedra’s shooting – a grand jury in Norristown concluded there was only probable cause to charge Schroeter with reckless endangerment, who also faced possible charges of homicide and involuntary manslaughter.

Schroeter is facing a maximum of 5 to 10 years in prison if he is convicted of all five reckless endangerment charges. He waived his preliminary hearing, and bail was set at $50,000.
Steve Bohnel can be reached at steve.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @Steve_Bohnel.