Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper Bradley Ritger died Friday, Oct. 2, after falling from a bridge while responding to a traffic pursuit on Sept. 21 in Dunn County. State officials said he had been given lifesaving efforts and taken to a hospital after the fall.
The death turns a single on-duty crash response into a line-of-duty loss that has already reached the top of state government. Governor Tony Evers said Saturday morning that the state would move to lower the U.S. and Wisconsin flags in Ritger’s honor once funeral arrangements are made.
Ritger was on Interstate 94 near the Eau Claire/Dunn County line when he deployed a tire deflation device on a bridge, then ran for cover and fell onto a roadway below. The account leaves unanswered what led to the pursuit and what happened in the moments before the fall, but the outcome is now clear: a trooper who had spent nearly five years with the Wisconsin State Patrol, mostly in Dunn County, did not survive.
A Facebook post from the Wisconsin State Patrol described Ritger as a dedicated public servant who approached every situation with professionalism, integrity and a genuine commitment to serving others. Evers echoed that loss, saying, “Our hearts break for Trooper Ritger and his family,” and adding that Ritger was already living a life of public service and dedication to the state.
Before joining the Wisconsin State Patrol, Ritger spent three years with the Department of Corrections. Evers called him “a young life lost far too soon,” and said state workers were mourning alongside his coworkers, colleagues, friends and loved ones. The next public gesture will be the flag order, but it depends on funeral arrangements being made first, a final step that means the tribute is ready only when the family is.
