| Charleston West Virginia |
Friday April 16, 1993 |
|
Group Uses Name of
Slain Trooper to Solicit Funds |
A caller who said he represented a national state police group invoked the name of a slain state trooper In requesting a donation, a spokesman for Gov. Gaston Caperton said. "I thought it was in incredibly poor taste, to be soliciting funds like this, when all West Virginians are grieving" said spokesman Bob Brunner. Trooper Larry Hacker, 34, of Harrisville died Friday after he was shot while In a hollow near Pullman. His funeral was Monday. The person who called Brunner's home Tuesday night said he was from the American Association of State Troopers, Brunner said. The association Is located in Tallahassee, Fla. The caller "indicated to me the West Virginia Troopers Lodge No. 8 had provided $10,000 In life insurance to the widow and two children of Hacker, and he was sure that I would want to help his association provide life insurance benefits to all the other troopers who face danger daily in West Virginia," Brunner said. Brunner told the caller West Virginia troopers have life Insurance from the state. The caller disagreed, Brunner said. When Brunner asked the man for an Identification number required by the state the caller hung up. Another man who said he was from the group called Brunner about 15 minutes later, Brunner said. That caller provided a 3-year-old identification number, Brunner said. No one answered the phone late Wednesday at the American Association of State Troopers office. |