On the evening of May 8, 1980, Burton Patrolman Russell Allen Herrick, 27, was killed while responding with a partner to a holdup alarm at a store on Davison Road. As they approached the front of the establishment, a shot from a high-powered rifle struck Herrick in the back. His partner was also wounded, shot in both arms, but survived.

Herrick had served two years with the Burton Police Department and left behind a wife and a daughter. Two suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and assault with intent to murder for the ambush. Both were later convicted and received life sentences for the murder of Patrolman Herrick and for wounding his partner.