Kotecki, an 18-year veteran of the force, was shot by fugitive Charles A. Post, 33, of Lower Burrell, who is also dead.
It could not be determined if other officers shot Post to death or if he committed suicide and officials at the scene declined to say.
Lower Burrell police Chief Tracy Lindo and Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said police had information that Post was going to be at the Dairy Queen.
According to their account:
Several officers were converging on the scene, and Kotecki was among the first to arrive.
Post saw the officers approaching and he stepped out of a Jeep he was driving and opened fire. Kotecki was felled by the gunfire.
Post tried to escape, but came to a fence that he could not scale.
He turned back toward the police officers and shot himself. At the same instant, the officers fired at Post, too.
Police knew that Post was dangerous. New Kensington Detective Sgt. Dino DiGiacobbe said last night that a Lower Burrell detective had reached Post by cell phone after the Oct. 2 incident for which Post was sought and tried to convince Post to turn himself in.
DiGiacobbe said that Post responded by telling the officer that his gun was loaded with 14 bullets -- "Thirteen for the cops and one for me."
Post, a member of Burrell High School Class of 1996, had been the subject of a manhunt since Oct. 2 when he fired gunshots at his boss, a contractor, outside of the Clarion Hotel in New Kensington.ORIGINAL SOURCE
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