14 DAY TRIAL // Police have two people suspected in the murder of a state trooper in custody. The officer was shot at a traffic stop in western Michigan on Monday.
A man and a woman have been detained in the case, according to Michigan Live. They were caught because the victim called the station dispatcher to provide them with his location and information on the suspects' vehicle. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after making the call.
A man and a woman have been captured based on data that Trooper Paul Butterfield, of Manistee County, provided.
Police caught up to them in Wellston, Manistee County at around 8:25 p.m. the male suspect was shot in a standoff, but he is stable.
“A tragic event like this shakes us all, but it also bolsters our resolve to make our streets and our neighborhoods safer,” Gov. Rick Snyder has expressed in a statement issued on Tuesday and conveyed by NY Daily News.
“This senseless incident is a grim reminder that our brave public safety officers put their lives on the line every day when they go to work protecting Michiganders. They are heroes,” he adds.
43-year-old Butterfield was an Army veteran and he had been with the police force for 14 years. Examiner notes that his dad is also a retired police officer.
He was shot at 6:20 p.m., after pulling over a vehicle on Custer Road near Townline Road in Mason County.
At 6:23 p.m., another driver stopped to check on him and discovered that he had been shot in the head.
He called 911 and the trooper was transported via helicopter to Munson Medical Center. Butterfield did not live through an emergency surgical intervention.
“Tonight we lost a hero. [...] The entire MSP family, as well as our greater law enforcement family, mourns alongside the Butterfields. Trooper Butterfield’s sacrifice will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace,” state police director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue states.