August 28, 2015
Montgomery County District Attorney's Office/Contributed Art
Former Pennsylvania Troopers firearms instructor Richard Schroeter (left) and trooper David Kedra (right).
After retiring from the force earlier this year, a former firearms instructor for the Pennsylvania State Police was sentenced to two weeks in jail for an accidental shooting that killed a 26-year-old trooper in September 2014.
Forty-three-year-old Richard Schroeter pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in the Sept. 30 incident that occurred during a training session. While discussing a mechanism on his weapon, Schroeter accidentally pulled the trigger, fatally shooting Trooper David Kedra in the chest.
According to prosecutors, Schroeter breached routine and critical safety protocols when he failed to confirm that his weapon was unloaded. They also said he failed to point his weapon away from those present at the training session in Plymouth Township, 6 ABC reports.
Schroeter was sentenced Friday by Montgomery County Judge Garrett Page. He will spend two weeks in jail and must serve three to 18 months of house arrest.
