AUDIO: House Honors Fallen Washington State Patrol Trooper

Information provided by Washington House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives took time Wednesday to pay tribute to

House Resolution 4681 noted Radulescu’s honorable service in the U.S. Army, his involvement in the communities throughout the Kitsap Peninsula, his positive attitude and “ever-present smile” and his many years of dedicated service to the Washington State Patrol.

Rep. Jan Angel, who co-sponsored the resolution, was one of several lawmakers to speak in favor of the measure on the House floor.

“We had a trooper who was out there doing what they do every single day, and he ran into a real bad dude. The smile that we see on Trooper Tony’s face doesn’t diminish that he loved what he did. He did it for 16 years and he was such a faithful servant to our people and to those of law enforcement,” said Angel, R-Port Orchard.

Angel said she learned of the tragedy when her phone rang at 5 a.m. last Thursday. It was one of her two grandsons who serve as troopers in the Washington State Patrol. He told Angel of the shooting and his involvement with law enforcement officers who escorted Radulescu to a Tacoma hospital where the officer was pronounced dead.

“When you are part of a law enforcement family, you pray for every single trooper out on that road every single day because we all know there is no routine traffic stop,” noted Angel.

The trooper’s family watched and listened from the House gallery as lawmakers paused with a moment of silence to remember Radulescu.

“I say to the family, remember that pretty smile. Remember the happiness that he had in doing the job that he did. Remember the love and the memories he carries for every single one of you and don’t let go of those,” added Angel. “That’s what you have to hang on to, and the pride that he served Kitsap County and the state of Washington in such a gallant way.”

The resolution was adopted unanimously. A similar resolution also passed in the Senate.