Friday September 30. 2005 - Wednesday October 05, 2005 - Friday October 07, 2005 - Monday October 10, 2005

Cop killed in ER

By HARRY YANOSHAK
Bucks County Courier Times

Friday September 30. 2005

Milt and Phyllis Berkes saw blood, bedlam and acts of bravery after a man in police custody opened fire in the emergency room of St. Mary Medical Center early Thursday night, killing one officer and wounding a second officer and a hospital worker.

Milt Berkes, a former Democratic state representative from Middletown, was in the ER for a nosebleed when he said he heard several shots fired about 20 feet from the room where he was being treated.

Police said drunken-driving suspect Robert Anthony Flor shot and killed Newtown officer Brian Steven Gregg of Middletown and wounded fellow officer James Joseph Warunek of Fairless Hills and an unidentified hospital worker.

Berkes said he jumped out of the bed after he heard the first shot. He said he heard three more shots in quick succession, followed by additional shots.

His wife, Phyllis, said she saw the gunman drop the weapon and run out of the ER. She also said she saw a young woman tip over the stroller carrying her baby girl to protect the child from the gunshots.

The emergency room staff screamed and ducked for cover after the first shot was fired, the couple said.

"It was just bedlam," Milt Berkes said. "There was blood all over the place. It was like a regular scene out of 'ER.' "

Police from across Bucks County descended on the sprawling hospital complex, which was locked down to protect the crime scene and the patients. The Berkeses said police photocopied Flor's Pennsylvania identification card and distributed the copies to those in the hospital in the hopes someone had seen him flee. He was found on the roof of the parking garage.


Soon after the shots were fired, nurses, doctors and other ER staff members were doing their jobs - checking on patients, despite the chaos around them.

A cardiologist checked on Milt Berkes, who has a longstanding heart condition. During their conversation, the doctor told the couple that a police officer had been shot and killed and that a second police officer had been wounded.

Phyllis Berkes said she found out later that a third person, a hospital worker, had also been wounded.

"It was the most horrible thing I've ever experienced," she said. "The kind of thing you read about.

"The staff was just incredible and came around the room and tried to calm people," she said. "I can't say enough about the staff."

After getting home, Milt Berkes had one final observation for the night.

It was his birthday. He turned 81 Thursday.

Harry Yanoshak can be reached at 215-949-4203 or hyanoshak@phillyBurbs.com.


September 30, 2005 7:18 AM