United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Sunday, June 21, 1998
Age: 36
Tour of Duty: 13 years
Badge Number: 874
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 21, 1998
Weapon Used: Rifle; 7.62 mm
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Park Ranger Joseph Kolodski was shot and killed after responding to a report of a man with a rifle threatening visitors at the Big Witch Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
He was ambushed and shot as he was stepping out of his patrol car. Ranger Kolodski was the first officer on the scene and had driven past the suspect before radioing to another ranger to stay out of sight until they could work out a plan. He then returned and began to exit his vehicle when he was shot.
Another ranger then arrived at the scene and was fired at before the suspect fled into the woods. Ranger Kolodski was flown to a hospital in Tennessee where he was pronounced dead. The suspect in the shooting was arrested approximately four hours later by a tribal game warden on the neighboring Cherokee Indian Reservation.
The suspect was sentenced to mandatory life without parole and is being held financially responsible for loss of future income to Ranger Kolodski's family.
Ranger Kolodski had served with the National Park Service for 13 years and was an officer safety and defensive tactics instructor for the agency. He is survived by his wife and three children.