Candlelight Vigil Held for Fallen Deputy Eric Overall (video)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Nov. 23, 2017)
Pontiac, MI – Oakland County Deputy Eric Overall paid the ultimate price Thanksgiving morning when he was killed by a driver running from police in pursuit on M15 in Brandon Township. The driver hit Deputy Overall as he was laying down spike strips, and police say the move was intentional.
Over 150 people gathered at the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in Pontiac Thursday night to honor Overall and grief together with a candlelight vigil, a prayer and the singing of Amazing Grace.
“He was the quintessential public safety public service,” said Sheriff Michael Bouchard of the fallen deputy. “He cared about the community and was out there on midnights doing his job when most people are sleeping. Midnights or inside the jail, lots of time they’re toiling for hours in places no one knows, but they do it anyway. And that’s exactly what he was doing in the middle of the night, trying to help another police agency to bring to a safe conclusion a chase that bye on one in the community got hurt by it. Instead he gave his life doing that.”
Deputy Overall was assisting the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office on a pursuit that had started in Lapeer County. The suspect was being pursued by LCSO after he had been at the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office headquarters where his actions and threats there led to the pursuit. The Medical Examiner has ruled the death of Deputy Overall a homicide.
The suspect is a 22 year old male from Macomb Township who is currently housed at the Macomb County Jail. He has prior 4 prior convictions for Possession of Marijuana and a conviction for Resisting and Obstructing Police.
One man in the crowd who worked with Deputy Overall in Commerce Township said “That guy put everybody in front of himself. He just cared…What happened last night, another friend’s mom said ‘Eric would have rather given his life than somebody else get hurt.”
“It’s the kind of thing you hope and pray never happens to anybody in public service, public safety. When I built this wall I’d hoped we’d never have to add another name. But unfortunately we do all the time and that’ a testimony to the men and women that put on a uniform of any kid, because they’re willing to that it any day, not knowing what the day will hold,” Sheriff Bouchard said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family at https://www.gofundme.com/in-memory-of-deputy-eric-overall. Over $30,000 has been raised so far.
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