Deputy William Henry Butler Jr., 51, was shot and killed on June 27, 2024, while assisting another officer during a traffic stop near Beecher and Lamb Road in Jefferson Township, Michigan. The passenger in the stopped vehicle, identified as 34-year-old Eric Michael Fiddler of Jonesville, resisted, was found to have outstanding warrants, and struggled with deputies. A taser was deployed without effect, and Fiddler produced a handgun and fired, striking Deputy Butler. Butler was taken to a nearby hospital and died of his injuries.

Fiddler fled on foot and was located several hours later about two miles from the scene. When members of the Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team confronted him and asked him to surrender, he opened fire; troopers returned fire and fatally shot Fiddler. The Michigan Department of Attorney General later determined the troopers acted in self-defense and in defense of fellow officers, and no charges were filed against them.

Butler had served 12 years with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office and 20 years in the Army National Guard, including a deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is survived by his wife and five children and was publicly mourned by law enforcement across the state and by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Does anyone have information about the traffic stop or the hours following the shooting that could help clarify what happened?