Emergency personnel will hold funeral procession from Ludington to Manistee

LUDINGTON — Law enforcement and fire/rescue agencies from Mason County and neighboring counties will hold a procession Saturday morning, en-route to the funeral of Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield in Manistee.

Sheriff Kim Cole said personnel will meet at the Mason County Sheriff’s Office at 9:30 a.m. for a uniform inspection. The procession will then travel to the Home Depot parking lot, at the intersection of U.S. 10-31 and Brye Road, where more agencies are expected. They will leave there at 10:20 a.m. and will travel east on U.S. 10-31 to the Scottville bypass. Again, more agencies are expected there.

The procession will then travel north on U.S. 31 to Merkey Road in Manistee County. It will then make its way to Manistee High School, where the funeral is being held.

“Holding this procession is just a small way for us to show respect for Trooper Butterfield and also to show our support for his family and our fellow officers,” Sheriff Cole said. Deputies are encouraging the public to show support along the route as well.

Though the Scottville Harvest Festival parade is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon,
Scottville will be sending three of its officers to attend the funeral. City Manager Amy Williams said this morning that police officers from Dearborn Heights will be volunteering their time to cover for the absent Scottville officers. She said they will be temporarily sworn in as Scottville officers. Chief Donald Riley will stay in town to supervise and work the parade, Williams said.

Cole said he is expecting over 40 people to represent the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, which includes deputies, corrections officers, reserve officers, chaplains and spouses. Personnel and jail prisoners were working this morning to clean up the department’s vehicles.

The Sheriff said Mason County will be staffed with its normal contingent of deputies. “We have had deputies who have stepped forward and volunteered to stay behind to keep the citizens of Mason County safe while the rest of us are attending the funeral,” he said.

Cole said he is also expecting representatives from Oceana and Lake counties to be in the procession. The Sheriff said he wanted travelers to use caution along that route and to also be patient with the procession, which is expected to be traveling at 40 mph.

“I know that our local travelers are very well aware of what has happened this week and know that they will show respect for the procession,” Cole said. “But, I do want to remind travelers that, by law, a funeral procession has the right-of-way.”