RICHMOND — People, many emotional and tearful, visited the Richmond Police Department cruiser that is parked outside the city building in remembrance of Police Officer Seara Burton, who continued to cling to life Thursday evening at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton hours after she had been removed from life support.
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The head injury from the gunshot wound she received the night of Aug. 10 in the line of duty has left her “unrecoverable.”
The realities of her condition and her tenacity drew an untold number of people to the cruiser all day and into the evening, where they laid flowers, candles and prayers to a professional many said they will remember as a “damn good” dedicated officer who has always been willing to help out.
“She would do anything for you and she would,” Chester Cook told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis. “If you needed something, just call her. She’ll be there to help you out.”
“I just met her two or three times on the street, said ‘hi’ to her and everything but she was a damn good officer,” Cook said.
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To every person who approached the cruiser, which now displays the words “Officer Seara Burton: Hero,” on its front windshield and rear window, the officer meant a lot to this small Indiana city and was someone they believed was dedicated to the job.
On a drive through the city, pictures of Burton have been put up seemingly everywhere you look.
The fact that Burton will be an organ donor shows what kind of person she has been, said Susi Shearer, who presented her flowers at the police department.
“I just think if there’s any ray of hope even though she’s going off the life support she will live on through her organ donations, she will continue to be a hero to so many people,” Shearer said.
Shearer and others said that while the show of support for Burton, the police department, emergency services crews and firefighters has been strong, they hope it doesn’t take any more tragedies for the support to continue.
“They all need our support,” Shearer said. “Not just through a tragedy but all the time.”
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