May 01, 2025
Placed alongside bustling roadways across Michigan, silent testaments stand inescapably visible to all who pass by as reminders of sacrifices never to be forgotten.
For decades, roadways throughout the state have witnessed endless commutes and blaring horns of motorists, screeching tires and the revving hum of engines. But now, some bear the weight of something much heavier: The names and stories of those who never came home.
Upraised in large and small cities that span the Great Lakes State's sprawling landscape, these storied memorials honor officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. Each is placed in locations connected to the officers’ final moments of service or near their homes — a symbolic nod to the geography of their ultimate assignments.
The memorials to fellow officers are more than designations along a stretch of asphalt; they are an enduring reminder for future generations of the ultimate sacrifice made by our law enforcement officers.
“While we cannot undo the negative impact that losing a loved one has on relatives and the MSP family, one thing we can do is acknowledge the significance of our members’ sacrifices,” said Sgt. Travis Fletcher of the Michigan State Police (MSP) Government Relations Section. “One aspect that helps when moving forward after tragedy is knowing they’re remembered for something positive.
“It’s a constant reminder for generations to come, allowing their names to live on,” he said.
The MSP has faced the bereft reality of honoring nearly five dozen officers who died on duty since 1921. To date, 57 sworn members of the MSP have been killed in the line of duty.
The MSP held memorial ceremonies last year to place permanent markers in Ingham and Wayne counties for Tpr. Caleb H. Starr of the Lakeview Post, who died in July 2020, and Tpr. Tony L. Thames of the Jackson Post, who died in June 1983. The observances resulted from collaborations among elected officials, local government agencies, the MSP and the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, a labor union representing troopers and sergeants.
Retired and current members of the MSP, dozens of supporters from nearby police agencies, community members and elected officials gathered around relatives at the ceremonies where these officers were remembered for their steadfast resolve. At one memorial, a sign bearing the officer’s name was unveiled, with his official portrait displayed on a table flanked by an MSP “Blue Goose” patrol vehicle.
The latest memorial and roadside sign unveiling occurred in early April 2025 for Tri-City Post Tpr. Joel E. Popp, who died in January 2024, at the post in Freeland. Plans are underway to establish a memorial designation for Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter of the Metro North Post, who died in September 2024. Both officers' names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington this month.
“When you see everyone come together to honor one of our fallen brothers or sisters, it means a lot to members of law enforcement,” Fletcher said. “These gestures show there is still support for the hard job our members perform daily.”
The Michigan Legislature began enacting laws or approving resolutions to rename roadways in 1925. Since then, 16 designations statewide have been signed into law honoring MSP fallen officers.
Yet roadway designations aren’t the only way fallen members are recognized and remembered.
After the death of Tpr. Kevin M. Marshall in July 2003, the Newaygo City Council established the eponymous Marshall Memorial Park in early 2004. The park, about 35 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, features a bronze sculpture of Marshall in uniform, with his daughter perched on his hip, her head resting on his chest, while his son stands beside him. Marshall and all fallen officers are honored annually on the Friday before Memorial Day with a candlelight vigil in the park, according to the city’s website.
Capt. Kevin Sweeney, commander of the MSP Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division, said the park memorial, to him, is an ideal destination to “contemplate, pray and remember” the “very good friendship” he shared with Marshall, who graduated from Trooper Recruit School eight months before he did in 1995.
Sweeney has led the Marshall 5k Run during Labor Day weekend for nearly 22 years and twice organized a golf outing that raised funds to bolster efforts for the memorial park and a scholarship also named for Marshall. Today, in partnership with the Fremont Area Community Foundation, a Newaygo County nonprofit, the scholarship assists high school seniors or current college students who aspire to pursue law enforcement careers.
For Marshall’s family and friends, the park statue represents a legacy bequeathed by Marshall, offering a lasting tribute for his loved ones to commemorate his memory, Sweeney said.
“After the annual 5k run when we’re handing out awards, it’s comforting to witness relatives, law enforcement members and friends taking photos by the statue and just seeing that lasting memory of Kevin and some of the excitement that comes with the race, celebrating his life,” he said.
In similar fashion, a scholarship named for Tpr. Paul K. Butterfield II, who was killed in September 2013, was established by his stepmother, Patricia, at the Frankenmuth Community Foundation. The scholarship financially assists students who are members of the MSP family — defined as active and or retired employees of the department — in furthering their postsecondary education.
Meanwhile, bestowed on the sacred grounds of the MSP Training Academy in Dimondale near Lansing, the MSP Fallen Trooper Memorial, funded by private donations and dedicated in October 2001, anchors the front lawn of the facility alongside a newer K-9 officer memorial, honoring the service and sacrifice of the agency's six fallen police dogs.
Carved on a granite wall arranged in a semicircle, the names of the department’s stalwart fallen officers are fittingly preserved where all MSP sworn members begin their public service careers as recruits, underscoring the value of the memorial’s location. Etched on each placard is the officer’s end of watch date and a number signaling the chronology of their death. A wreath donned in an assortment of flowers stands centered upon gravel shaped in a silhouette of the state of Michigan.
“This is where troopers are born, this is where everyone starts their career today,” said Capt. Tim Olson, commander of the Training Division. “Every enforcement member currently in the department has walked these halls; this was once their home.”
The Fallen Trooper Memorial, Olson said, is the ultimate tribute that “remembers everything troopers did, while also paying respects to their families.”
On May 5, the MSP will hold its annual Fallen Trooper Memorial Service at the Training Academy. The gathering, a precursor to National Police Week, will demonstrate honor, remembrance and peer support and allow law enforcement, survivors and supporters to pay homage to MSP sworn officers who gave their lives in the line of duty. During National Police Week, May 11–17, personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice nationwide will be honored with commemorative observances, including a National Peace Officers Memorial Service in Washington. More information can be found at www.policeweek.org.
The names of fallen MSP officers and all fallen officers from across the state are also preserved at the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument near the State Capitol in downtown Lansing.
For the MSP, memorials saluting its fallen officers are not merely symbolic; they promise that these officers will forever be remembered across the landscape of the state they swore to protect and serve.
Joining forces “during and after immediate crises or times of need is essential,” Sweeney said. “Being a part of the lasting effects on the family atmosphere the MSP strives to have and does have is equally significant.”
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