Corporal Timothy O’Connor, Jr. attended Henderson High School in West Chester and the University of Pittsburgh before enlisting with the Pennsylvania State Police on September 20, 2010, as a member of the 131st Cadet Class.
Upon graduating from the State Police Academy, Corporal O’Connor was assigned to the patrol unit at Troop J in Avondale. He was transferred to Troop J, Vice Unit, in October 2016, and then to the patrol unit at Troop J, Embreeville, in March 2022. Corporal O’Connor was promoted to corporal in July 2022, where he remained a member of the patrol unit at the Embreeville Station.
On Sunday, March 8, 2026, Corporal O’Connor responded to a report of an erratic driver in Honey Brook Township, Chester County. He located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. As Corporal O’Connor approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, the operator immediately opened fire through the window, fatally striking Corporal O’Connor. The gunman then exited the vehicle, walked a short distance, and fatally shot himself.
Corporal O’Connor became the 105th member of the Department to make the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life in the line of duty. A funeral service was held on March 18, 2026, at St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
