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Ambush at the Barracks: 5 Years Later

Five years ago this night, two state troopers were ambushed at the Blooming Grove State Police Barracks in Pike County. One was killed, the other wounded, and n...

Five years ago this night, two state troopers were ambushed at the Blooming Grove State Police Barracks in Pike County.

One was killed, the other wounded, and northeastern Pennsylvania would live through months few can forget.

It was chaos in the woods of Pike County. Shots that rang in the night at the Blooming Grove barracks on September 12, 2014, would frighten and sadden northeastern Pennsylvania for weeks.

An ambush left Cpl. Bryon Dickson dead, Trooper Alex Douglass wounded, and a region stunned.

The law enforcement community faced the challenge of finding a killer and mourning a friend.

There were so many tears at a funeral for the trooper, Marine, husband, and father of two. The image of a son in dad's hat is hard to forget.

What followed was a ceremonial burial for a hero, but on the minds of many: the killer was still on the loose.

We would all become familiar with the face of Eric Frein.

For 48 long days, neighborhoods and woods in parts of the Poconos would be filled with police in a manhunt unlike any this area had seen before.

On the night before Halloween, Eric Frein was taken into custody, cuffed with Cpl. Dickson's handcuffs.

Frein was found hiding in an abandoned hangar.

There were cheers and jeers as troopers brought him to be arraigned, but contrast that with how people rallied around Trooper Alex Douglass, the one severely wounded in that shooting.

"Every time I would read a card or a letter from someone it would just motivate me, Douglass told Newswatch 16. "People care. There's one person out there who causes harm, but there are thousands of people that love you. PSP Strong helped me out so much and helped others out. When I woke up and heard what they were doing, it was amazing."

In 2017, a jury convicted and sentenced Frein to death. Trooper Douglass and Cpl. Dickson's wife and parents were all there.

There would be dedications to Cpl. Dickson, like a garden at the Blooming Grove barracks and an exit on the highway renamed.

Five years have passed, but Cpl. Bryon Dickson's service and sacrifice are certainly still remembered.

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