On a September afternoon in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, the life of 26-year-old male, David Kedra, was tragically cut short. It was September 30, 2014, and Kedra, a Pennsylvania State Trooper, was participating in a firearms training session at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Complex. During the exercise, a live round was discharged from a fellow officer's weapon, striking Kedra in the chest.
He was airlifted to Temple University Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation that followed identified the shooter as Corporal Richard Schroeter, a 42-year-old firearms instructor with the Pennsylvania State Police. According to the investigation, Schroeter was demonstrating a new firearm to the class and, while explaining the trigger mechanics, pulled the trigger of his duty-issued handgun, which he had not confirmed was unloaded. The weapon discharged, firing the fatal shot that struck Trooper Kedra. Schroeter's actions were found to be in breach of standard safety protocols.
Following a grand jury investigation, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to support an involuntary manslaughter charge against Richard Schroeter. Instead, in February 2015, he was arrested and charged with five counts of reckless endangerment. Schroeter, a 20-year veteran of the force, later pleaded guilty to these charges. His attorney stated that Schroeter was filled with remorse over the unintentional death of a fellow trooper.
In August 2015, Richard Schroeter was sentenced for his role in the death of David Kedra. He received a sentence of two weeks in jail, followed by three to eighteen months of house arrest. Additionally, he was ordered to serve four years of probation. The sentencing brought a close to the criminal proceedings, though the family of David Kedra expressed their profound grief and disappointment with the outcome, feeling the sentence was too lenient. Subsequently, Kedra's family filed a civil lawsuit against Schroeter, alleging his conduct violated Kedra's constitutional rights.
