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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Poughkeepsie Police Officer Shot and Killed


Poughkeepsie Police Officer Shot and Killed: MyFoxNY.com


A Poughkeepsie, N.Y., police officer responding to a call of a shooting in a parking lot near the Poughkeepsie's train station was shot and later died. He has been identified as John Falcone, 44, a 18 year police veteran. He is the first officer from the department to be shot and killed in the line of duty.

Three other police officers were also hurt.

The suspect, who apparently shot and killed his wife, was himself shot and killed Friday afternoon. He may have shot himself, according to reports.

The dead suspect has been identified as Lee Welch, 27, of Catskill. The dead woman was identifed as Jessica Welch, 28, of Catskill.

In what is believed to have been a domestic dispute, Welsch shot his wife in the mouth, the source said. He then shot a responding police officer before turning the gun on himself.

Welch had been holding the couple's 3-year-old child when he was first confronted by police, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported. A responding police officer, possibly the one shot, grabbed the child and handed it to a witness. The child in the care of Jessica Welch's family.

Mayor John C. Tkazyik says the incident took place around 1 p.m. on lower Main Street.

Officer Falcone was shot twice in the head, sources told NewsCore. He was taken into surgery but did not survive, officials said.

The injured officers were taken to Vassar Brothers Medical Center.

Due to the investigation of the active crime scene, Poughkeepsie Police closed Main Street from Route 44/55 to the Hudson River for hours on Friday.

1 comment:

  1. Officer Falcone was a good cop, fair, treated people with common respect and quite possibly the finest police officer the city of Poughkeepsie has ever seen. A terrible loss and a reality check about how scenarios can snow-ball out of control quickly. There are still a few unanswered questions regarding the guns and rounds fired during the struggle, but all in all, this fine officer gave his life by saving that baby's life.

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