A year after the death of his son, Bryon Dickson still sticks to his nightly ritual.
“Every night when I go to work I say I love you,” Dickson told NBC10. “We miss you.”
On September 12, 2014, Dickson’s son Cpl. Bryon Dickson II and State Trooper Alex Douglass were shot in an ambush attack outside the Blooming Grove barracks in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Douglass survived the shooting. Cpl. Dickson died from his injuries.
“I think we’re holding our own,” Dickson’s father said. “But then now that it’s getting closer to the day, we have our moments.”
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting which sparked a 48-day manhunt. The suspect in the shooting, 32-year-old Eric Frein, was finally captured on October 30, 2014 at an abandoned airplane hangar.
Hundreds of police officers took part in the seven-week manhunt for Frein, including Stroud Area Regional Police Patrolman Steve Hettel.
“With police officers being taken down at random it’s always fresh in your mind,” Hettel told NBC10. “It doesn’t seem like it’s been a year.”
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The manhunt impacted schools, tourist attractions and hunting season at surrounding towns and even forced Barrett Township to cancel a Halloween parade and trick-or-treating. A year after the event, locals are looking forward to a return to normalcy during the upcoming Fall season.
“Once the weather clears out and gets cooler and the leaves start to turn hopefully people will be back and we can start into a normal fall,” said George Traugh, General Manager of the Theo B. Price Country store in Cresco, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile lawyers on both sides of the case are preparing for Frein’s trial which likely won’t begin until next year. Frein pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first degree murder and terrorism. Authorities are seeking the death penalty.
“There will be certainly wounds there probably forever that may not be ever fully healed,” said Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin.
Those wounds still sting for Cpl. Dickson’s family, including his two young sons and wife.
“What did you accomplish?” asked Dickson’s father. “Besides making two young boys go without their father now?”
