A 16-year-veteran of the Washington State Patrol, killed in the line of duty today, was the kind of person everyone wanted to be around. As a trooper, he saw the best and worst in drivers.

Trooper Tony Radulescu was doing his job early this morning when a man he'd stopped shot him and left him to die by the side of Highway 16 near Gorst.

WSP Chief John Batiste says the fallen trooper was" well-known and loved in the community."

The 44-year-old Radulescu was a military veteran, and the father of a soldier.

"He was a very popular person within the agency, a great personality. I loved being around him, a real sense of humor. A person who was highly thought of in the community. One that was in high demand, particularly in dealing with school children. So he did a lot of talking at local schools in the Kitsap County area," Batiste says. "He was a father and a peer to many of us who was dearly loved."

In 2007, The Kitsap Sun wrote a feature about Radulescu who often was on patrol in a maroon 2003 Chevy Impala that he said helped him peer into the souls of motorists.

"I see people without their halos," Radulescu said in a slight Romanian accent, referring to the "halo effect," or the tendency for people to be on their best behavior when they know a police officer is watching. "I see people with their little horns growing." Read their story here.

The loss is being felt throughout the community .

"My heart is heavy this morning as we mourn the loss of Trooper Tony Radulescu," says Governor Gregoire. "Trooper Radulescu was a humble public servant who spent his entire career risking his life to defend ours. Washington state lost a true hero this morning."

By Linda Thomas

WSP Photo