Sue Burkhard made this statement on the Michigan State Police FB page: A Michigan State Trooper, Paul Butterfield, was shot and killed last night. Two suspects are in custody. Someone said in passing this morning, “You didn’t know him personally did you? Why do you mourn?” Let me try to explain. No I did not know Trooper Butterfield personally. Who I do know and count as family members is hundreds of other men and women who are very much like Trooper Butterfield. I know what Trooper Butterfield stood for and the courage and commitment it took for him to put his uniform on day in and day out and serve a largely ungrateful or indifferent public. I know that there are very few people who can put on a police uniform and serve their community well and the loss of even one of those willing to do so is a far more of a price then we can afford to pay. I know the bond that glues the very foundation of the men and women in the public safety community into one family. I know the deep grief and pain that resonates within our very beings as we contemplate wifes/husbands, children, parents, brothers and sisters who will now have to face a life without one who was so very important in their lives. I know the yearning desire to do something, to do anything to take a bit of that pain a way and yet the near hopeless knowledge that there is very little that we can do as individuals but when we stand together as a whole we can lean on, hold up and support one another. I know that in this case where it seems like evil prevailed that the sacrifice of the loss of Trooper Butterfield will not be in vain. I know that this type of loss is one of the few things that can penetrate the emotional armor that the men and women in public safety learn early on to erect to protect their very being from all the pain, suffering, abuse, injustice and horror that they see. This sacrifice will make them reevaluate their priorities, their commitment, what they count as important and at the end of the day appreciate exactly how precious life is. So no, I did not know Trooper Butterfield personally. Yet I mourn the pain that is felt across a nation of blue. The state of Michigan and our nation has lost a great man who stood for justice and righteousness and peace. So few truly hold those values as important in life anymore, thus the loss of even one who is willing to stand above the rest should be mourned by all.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 22:42:16 +0000
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