Officer Scott A. Wertz was a life-long resident of Berks County, Pennsylvania. He attended Reading and Wilson School districts before graduating from Wilson High School in 1984. He graduated from the Reading Police Academy in 1994 and again in 1997. Prior to that, he worked as a Correctional Officer at Berks County Prison and also worked part-time for the Sinking Spring and South Heidelberg Township Police Departments. He joined the Reading Police Department in 1997. He worked in the Patrol Divison, was a Field Training Officer, and was on the Auto Theft Task Force – a part of the criminal investigations division. On August 6, 2006, Officer Wertz died in the line of duty. At the time of his death he was survived by a wife, Tricia, and two sons, Jared and Joshua. Throughout his life, Officer Wertz exemplified what service and heroism are all about. He excelled in his profession. He lived life with zest and charisma. His service made a difference in his community. He touched many people’s lives in many ways. He always had a smile on his face. He loved his family, friends, football, playing softball, his job, the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees, the City of Reading, coaching, and life. He died doing what he loved to do. He truly was a hero, not just in how he died but in how he lived as well. Rank: Police Officer; End of Watch: August 6, 2006; Cause: Gunfire; Age: 40; Years of Service: 9. Description: Officer Wertz was shot and killed after he and his partner responded to a disturbance call at a local convenience store. When the officers arrived at the scene, several shots were fired in the nearby parking lot. Officer Wertz was shot twice in the chest as he attempted to stop one of the fleeing suspects.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Deputy Kyle Pagerly was shot and killed while serving a warrant as part of a fugitive task force at a home on Pine Swamp Road in Albany Township.
When task force members arrived at the scene the suspect ran into the woods. Deputy Pagerly and his canine pursued the suspect. When officers located him he opened fire with an AK-47, striking Deputy Pagerly in the head. Other officers returned fire and killed the subject.  Deputy Pagerly was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
Deputy Pagerly was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Berks County Sheriff’s Department for five years. He also served with the Spring Township Fire Department.

A Berks County deputy sheriff and a 25-year-old suspect armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and wanted on burglary and weapons charges were killed in a shoot-out in Albany Township on Pine Swamp Road near Hawk Mountain Road around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

State police in Hamburg identified the officer who was killed as 28-year-old Kyle D. Pagerly and the suspect as Matthew M. Connor, 25, of 26 Pine Swamp Road in the Kempton section of Albany Township.

According to a news release from state police, a fugitive task force comprising members of the Berks County Sheriff’s office, state police from the Hamburg barracks and the federal marshals service attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Connor for burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and a weapons charge for illegally possessing, selling or transferring firearms.

When the task force arrived, they were speaking to Connor’s girlfriend when Connor ran out of the back of the house into the woods. Members of the detail followed him into the woods. Pagerly, a K-9 officer, came upon a rise in the terrain and Connor came up over the rise armed with an AK-47. State police said Connor ignored an order to drop the weapon, and gunfire was exchanged.

Connor was shot and killed at the scene. Pagerly was wounded and flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he died.

The news release from state police does not specify which officers discharged their weapons. The investigation is ongoing.

Court records show state police in Hamburg filed a criminal complaint against Connor on Tuesday, charging him with burglary, criminal trespass, persons not to use fire arms, three counts of terroristic threats, four counts of simple assault and four counts of recklessly endangering another person. Trooper Matthew S. Brady from the Hamburg barracks filed the complaint.

State police said the charges stem from incidents that occurred Monday at his home at 26 Pine Swamp Road and at a nearby residence at 43 Pine Swamp Road. Berks County tax records show both properties are owned by Maurice L. Connor and include one-story homes. The property at 25 Pine Swamp Road contains about 12.5 acres and the property at 43 Pine Swamp Road is nearly a quarter acre in size.

The Berks County Sheriff’s Department website, says Pagerly was born in Reading and graduated in 2001 from Wilson High School in West Lawn, Berks County. He also was a U.S. Army Military Police graduate and served in Kosovo in 2002 and Iraq in 2002. He was promoted to sergeant in 2004.

He graduated from the Reading Police Academy in 2005, federal Bureau of Prisons basic training in 2006, Berks County Sheriff’s Department in 2006 and Philadelphia Police Canine Academy in 2009. He also was a lieutenant in the Spring Township Fire Department. He K-9 partner Jynx is a German Shepherd.

Born in Reading, PA
Graduate Wilson High School 2001
United States Army Military Police Graduate 2001
Military service Kosovo 2002, Iraq 2003 – 2004 (Sergeant)
Reading Police Academy 2005
Federal Bureau of Prisons Basic Graduate 2006
Berks County Sheriffs Department 2006
Township of Spring Fire Department Lieutenant
Philadelphia Police Canine Academy 2009

SOURCE: http://themunz.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/deputy-sheriff-kyle-pagerly-berks-county-sheriffs-department-pennsylvania-eow-wednesday-june-29-2011/