Officer Seara Burton’s mother, Jennifer Miller, stretched to place a blue flower next to her daughter’s picture on the End of Watch: Ride to Remember trailer.
Burton is one of the 380 officers killed in 2022 and 2023 whose sacrifice is being remembered by the Beyond the Call of Duty tour, which began June 1 in Spokane, Washington and arrived July 16 at Richmond Police Department, part of a 73-day, 23,000-mile trek.
“It’s hard seeing your kid’s picture on a truck like this, but it’s great that they travel and everybody around the United States can hear their story,” Miller said.
Miller reaches out to the families suffering a loss like hers. She’s also become a trauma support specialist and opened the Healing Bar at 195 Fort Wayne Ave. Families can talk to someone who’s lived their pain, rather than someone who’s just studied about that pain.
“This is something that keeps her memory alive, and that’s what I promised I’d do, is keep her memory alive,” said Ami Miller, Burton’s stepmother and an RPD sergeant, after the short July 16 program before RPD officers and other supporters. “Until my last breath, I’ll make sure she’s remembered, and this is part of it. It’s amazing.”
Nearly two years since Burton was shot Aug. 10, 2022, during a traffic stop and died that Sept. 18, the RPD K-9 officer’s picture, with her partner, Brev, was one of 245 on the trailer’s left side to remember law enforcement officers killed during 2022. Another 135 pictures of officers killed during 2023 adorned the trailer’s right side.
Burton scholarships
Seara Burton FOP Auxiliary No. 63 recently awarded eight Seara Burton Memorial Scholarships worth more than $14,000 to recent graduates of Wayne County high schools.
The awards were for $1,140 to represent Burton’s badge number 140 or for $3,900 to represent the 39 days she fought after being shot.
Winners were Peyton Meyer, Hayden Arnold and Hannah Pyle of Hagerstown High School; Rylee McClain and Kevin Handley Jr. of Richmond; Emma Neeley of Northeastern; Aurora Biava of Centerville; and Bailey Burgin of Lincoln.
The auxiliary funds the scholarships with the 140 Challenge, a 5K and fitness challenge. The second 140 Challenge will be Sept. 28 at Indiana University East. Registration is open at runsignup.com/Race/IN/Richmond/The140Challenge.
A version of this article appeared in the July 24 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.