Paul Butterfield, Mich. state trooper, shot and killed during traffic stop, report says
(CBS/AP) HART, Mich. - Two are in custody after a Michigan state trooper was fatally shot during a traffic stop Monday night, reports CBS affiliate WWMT.
Trooper Paul Butterfield of the Hart post was shot in Mason County on Monday night. Butterfield stopped a vehicle at 6:20 p.m. in Sherman Township and a few minutes later a motorist called 911 to report that a trooper had been shot in the head.
Michigan State Police said in a news release Butterfield died during emergency surgery at Munson Medical Center.
Police later found a vehicle based on information Butterfield had called in before he was shot, and police located two suspects at a gas station in Wellston around 8:30 p.m.
According to WWMT, police exchanged gunfire and one suspect was shot in the leg. A man and woman were taken into custody.
Sherman Township is about 80 miles north of Grand Rapids.
"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," Michigan gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement. "They are heroes."
Butterfield, who became a trooper in 1999, was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
