Slain officer remembered
WAYNESBORO — A game warden killed during a poaching investigation was remembered Sunday as a man with an electric smile who never knew a stranger and a devout Christian who was dedicated to his job.
The funeral for 31-year-old David Grove at Waynesboro Senior High School in central Pennsylvania drew more than 1,000 mourners, including law enforcement officials nationwide and Gov. Ed Rendell.
Grove, who died Nov. 11, was the first Pennsylvania game warden killed in the line of duty in 95 years.
Grove’s brother Chad Grove remembered their days together as mischief-making children, his brother’s devotion as an uncle and their time together in the outdoors they both loved.
“It’s such unfamiliar territory to me, I’ve never known life without you here,” he said before the flag-draped casket, lined on both sides with flowers sent in tribute. “Today, I feel a little lost at times.”
Friends described Grove as the life of the party, while fellow Pennsylvania Game Commission officers remembered his enthusiasm for the job.
A preliminary hearing for the man accused of killing Grove, Christopher Lynn Johnson, is scheduled for Wednesday at a district court outside Gettysburg. Johnson, 27, of Fairfield, is charged with criminal homicide, weapons offenses and hunting law violations in connection with Grove’s death.
Police said Grove was on patrol in a rural area near Eisenhower National Historic Site outside Gettysburg the night of Nov. 11 when he apparently saw someone using a spotlight to illegally hunt. He pulled over the truck Johnson was driving and called in the license plate, police said, a critical piece of evidence that led to his arrest.
Johnson later told police he shot Grove because Johnson was a felon in possession of a firearm and did not want to return to prison, according to Johnson’s arrest affidavit.
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