DAYTON — It’s been exactly one year since Richmond police officer Seara Burton was shot on the job in Indiana. A year later, officers speak about how this day reminds communities about the dangers they face.
Dayton Police Sgt. Kyle Thomas, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police, said hoping that people take a moment today to honor Burton, who died from her injuries in September 2022, and her sacrifice.
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“It’s a reminder to the community, it’s not a reminder to us, it’s there every day. We never forgot, her family didn’t forget, her friends didn’t forget. The brother and sisters in law enforcement, it’s a reminder every day,” Thomas said.
Burton’s shooting on the job and her death was one of an alarming number of peace officers killed at work in 2022. Five Ohio officers and four in Indiana were among the 247 that died on duty, from all causes, last year.
The dangers officers face are not improving. A Columbus officer was shot and injured Wednesday but should survive.
Thomas told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that they received a lot of support when Detective Jorge Del Rio was shot and killed in the line of duty in 2019. He said the department, and the police union, paid it forward last year, reaching out to care for Burton’s family and friends during those weeks after she was first shot.
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“There’s a need, they don’t have to ask. Whatever’s needed is taken care of. The family is taken care of, the officer is taken care of,” Thomas said. “You just do it. It’s the right thing to do and if we were in opposite roles, they would do the same for us.”
Sixty-one police officers died from felonious shooting attacks last year across the country, according to the Officer Down Memorial Group. Richmond and Dayton police say it shouldn’t be part of the job, but it is and they have to deal with it.
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