Investigators want answers in trooper’s death

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State Police on Friday mourned the death of a popular trooper as they worked to piece together details of the roadside shooting that claimed his life.\nMaster Trooper David Rich, 41, was shot in the chest Thursday after he stopped to help a Michigan man he thought was stranded, police said. The shooter then reloaded his shotgun and killed himself, state police Sgt. Tony Slocum said.\n"We might not ever know the reason why," Slocum said. "It obviously doesn't make sense to us at this point."\nInvestigators said Rich, an 18-year state police veteran, was on his way home Thursday around 4 p.m. from the Peru, Ind., post when he spotted a sport-utility vehicle parked along U.S. 24 about 40 miles southwest of Fort Wayne. Rich, who was not wearing a bulletproof vest or a uniform, pulled his unmarked car behind the SUV and approached the vehicle.\nRich did not radio dispatchers when he stopped, which is not uncommon when a trooper stops to check on a motorist and does not suspect unusual activity, Slocum said.\nPolice believe Rich displayed his police identification as he walked up to the driver's side window of the SUV. He had unholstered his handgun, which was found next to his body, along with his police badge and police radio, Slocum said Friday.\nJoseph M. Vultaggio Jr., 21, of Gaylord, Mich., likely shot the trooper with a shotgun aimed out the partially opened window before turning the gun on himself, police said Friday.\nOtsego County, Mich., Sheriff James McBride said the suspect's father reported that his son had stolen the vehicle around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The next day, the father provided more detail about the vehicle, enabling the department to enter it into the computer system as stolen.\n"That's about the time everything else started going down in Indiana," McBride said Friday.\nVultaggio had been arrested and convicted for a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2004 in Michigan.\nHis father said he had no idea why his son had taken the SUV or why he headed to Indiana.\n"I'm sorry for the other family that they've had to go through this," said Joseph M. Vultaggio Sr., declining to comment further.\nRich was from a law-enforcement family; his father is former Miami County Sheriff Jack Rich, a retired state trooper, and his brother is state police Capt. Bob Rich.\nSlocum said Rich and his family are well-known and respected in the area, and that they were overwhelmed with support from the troopers, law enforcement officers and the community. Slocum said troopers are mourning their fallen brother while trying to perform police work required of them.\n"We still have a job to do," he said. "We're still going to stop and assist broken-down cars. If someone calls 911, we're still going to get there as fast as we can – just with a heavier heart."\nFuneral arrangements were pending for Rich, who also is survived by his wife Connie, their 7-year-old daughter Lauren and 4-year-old twins Carson and Connor. Gov. Mitch Daniels on Friday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in parts of Indianapolis and Wabash County on the day of funeral services.\nRich is the first state trooper killed in a line-of-duty shooting since December 2003, when Trooper Scott Patrick was fatally shot after he stopped to a check a vehicle parked on an exit ramp along Interstate 80/94 in Gary. Darryl Jeter of Chicago was convicted of murder and was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole.