Sturgis-Coldwater News

LANSING, Mich. — Senators Joseph Bellino and Jonathan Lindsey testified on Wednesday in support of legislation to honor Hillsdale County Deputy Sheriff William Butler Jr., who was killed in the line of duty in June.

“This bill is about remembering and celebrating the life, service, and sacrifice of Deputy Butler, who was fatally shot while bravely assisting another officer during a traffic stop earlier this summer,” said Bellino, R-Monroe. “Deputy Butler served our country in the Iraq War and the people of Hillsdale County for 12 years. He was also a devoted husband and a loving father of five children.”

Senate Bill 977 would designate a portion of Highway M-34 in Hillsdale County from Pioneer Road to South Pittsford Road as the “Deputy Sheriff William Butler Jr. Memorial Highway.”

“Deputy Butler’s service will most certainly be remembered. I know this because I know the Hillsdale community. They have already shown how deeply they love and respect this man, how grateful they are for his service, and how profoundly his sacrifice has impacted them,” said Lindsey, R-Coldwater. “It is only right that we in the Legislature also take action to commemorate Deputy Butler’s courage and dedication to his community.”

Butler was 51 years old. The last Hillsdale County Sheriff's deputy to be killed on duty was Undersheriff Harland O. Wood in 1930.

After hearing from Bellino and Lindsey, the Senate Veterans and Emergency Services Committee reported the bill to the full Senate for consideration.

If signed into law, it will have no fiscal impact on state or local government. State law requires sufficient private contributions to completely cover the cost of erecting and maintaining markers indicating the name of a memorial highway.

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