Crowds wait to pay Officer Seara Burton their respect: 'She's going to be missed'

RICHMOND, Ind. — A hero received richly deserved respect and gratitude Sunday.

Richmond Police Department K-9 Officer Seara Burton laid in state inside the Richmond Municipal Building. Fellow officers and fellow citizens waited in lines, often more than two hours in the mid-60s temperatures and blowing winds, to enter the city building. Inside, displays remembering Burton's service and life decorated the hallways, and Burton's flag-covered casket rested in the second-floor rotunda.

RPD, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Reid Health Police Department and other area first responders lined up along the city building's south sidewalk to North Fifth Street and along the North Fifth Street sidewalk passed the tributes established there for Burton. Those were the first to enter the city building.

Officers waiting in a separate line came from additional nearby agencies and from agencies across the country. Officers waiting in line came from Chicago; Portland, Oregon; and Framingham, Massachusetts. There also were fire and EMS personnel as well as county employees from multiple departments in that line.

Hundreds of citizens waited in two lines, fighting the chilling winds. Therapy dogs that received plenty of attention were guided through the crowds, and volunteers offered water to those waiting hours.

Richmond community honors Seara Burton

Dustin Gipson of Richmond said he came to show his respect toward Burton.

"It's a small-town thing; everybody backs everybody," he said. "Your officers are what protect your town. If you support them, it's just respect is all it is."

Four Richmond women, good friends of Burton's mother, Jennifer Miller, and step-mom, RPD Officer Ami Miller, waited together. They also knew Burton.

"They're good people, and we're showing our support," Kim Bowling said.

Bowling said she was in disbelief Burton was shot.

"Of course, we shed many tears," she said.

Janie Carpenter said what happened to Burton is sad, but there's been a silver lining in the support shown Burton and her family.

"The flip side is the town came together like this," she said near the back of those gathered in the city building's south parking lot. "I've never seen the town rally around anything like this in my life."

DeeDee Cummings said she's known Ami Miller since the seventh grade.

"She didn't have to go through this; it's sad," Cummings said. "I hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears after all of this."

Kathy Basford said she would remember Burton as always smiling.

"She had a beautiful smile and a kind heart," Basford said. "She's going to be missed. She's going to be missed by the community and friends and family."

After Burton's shooting, the city building quickly became a place to gather, to pray and to pay tribute. It started with signs and a prayer board posted outside the building's police department entrance, where people tied white-and-blue ribbons and left flowers, stuffed animals and candles. Hundreds then gathered two days after Burton's shooting for a prayer vigil where many again stood in line Sunday.

Seara Burton removed from life support Sept. 1

On Sept. 1, the day Burton was removed from life support, her K-9 vehicle was parked on a sidewalk on the building's east side. A large sign and the relocated prayer board flanked the vehicle. Immediately, people were drawn to the tribute, again leaving flowers, candles, stuffed animals and other mementos.

Monica Koechlein was one of those, invited by her friend, Doug Macias. She found something there that helped her.

The next night, as some struggled to light and stand candles, someone suggested the tribute needed luminarias. Koechlein, the executive director of Richmond Symphony Orchestra, happened to have the necessary materials stored in her garage, left over from a fall symphony event.

That began a nightly tribute with Koechlein, Macias and Roxie Deer forming a core group that daily organized and tended the luminarias, gathering each evening to light and watch over them.

The materials were left so that anyone could write a message on a luminaria bag that would join the ever-growing line along the North Fifth Street sidewalk. Those luminaria remained in place Sunday.

Koechlein said that for her the tribute created a community where anyone could express and address their grief individually or collectively. They could share stories if they chose or only share the experience of acknowledging Burton's service and sacrifice.

"What it demonstrated for me is vigilance," Koechlein said. "This place gives us an opportunity, and people can come and create their own experience here."

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Seara Burton, K-9 officer, honored by Richmond community