State Trooper Fatally Shot During Routine Traffic Stop In Michigan

A state trooper was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in Western Michigan.

Trooper Paul Butterfield stopped a vehicle at about 6:20 pm in Sherman Township. Butterfield gave the dispatcher the vehicle’s location and license plate number and then approached the car.

Butterfield was then shot in the head and left for dead on the side of the road.

A motorist passing by called 911 to report that a state trooper had been shot. Butterfield was taken to the hospital but died shortly after arrival.

State police Lt. Chris McIntire said that Butterfield followed proper protocol during the traffic stop and because of the information he provided the state police were able to locate the vehicle at a nearby gas station.

McIntire said: “What he did was perfect… You can’t prepare for something like this. He did the right thing.”

The state police found the two suspects at a gas station in Wellston. Officers exchanged gunfire with the two suspects before taking them into custody. A male suspect was shot by police officers and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A female suspect was also taken into custody.

All of the officers at the scene escaped without injuries. No charges have been filed.

McIntire said: “We have a lot to do yet. We are trying to piece the investigation together. We want to do it right.”

After the state trooper was shot and killed, Governor Rick Snyder ordered all U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff. The flags will remain at half-staff until after Butterfield’s funeral.

Snyder said: “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.”

Here’s a video report about the tragic incident in Michigan.