Slain trooper's mother doesn't blame anybody

BUFFALO - The mother of slain Trooper David Brinkerhoff said she has nothing but compassion for his state police comrades, even if he was killed by friendly fire.

“I want to give them a hug, I want to give them a hug and tell them it's OK,” Karen Howard told WIVB-TV in Buffalo. “They were in a chaotic and confused situation, and they did what they had to do. The friendly fire thing, whoever it is, we forgive you and we'll be there for you.”

Brinkerhoff, 29, was killed Wednesday in a farmhouse on the western flank of the Catskill Mountains as he and six other members of the elite Mobile Response Team entered while searching for 23-year-old Travis Trim, on the run because he had been suspected of shooting another trooper the day before.