Hillsdale deputy killed in shooting identified as William Butler Jr., a father of 3; MSP releases new details about what happened

HILLSDALE, Mich. (WWJ) -- For the second time this month, a Michigan sheriff's deputy has been shot and killed while on duty.

We're now learning more from Michigan State Police about the second shooting, which happened Thursday evening in Hillsdale .

MSP confirms that Deputy William Butler Jr. of the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department died in the shooting.

Butler, who was 51 years old, is survived by his wife and three children.

Butler had served with the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department for 12 years, and is also a veteran of the armed forces serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to MSP, at around 2:15 p.m. on June 27, a detective sergeant with the department made a traffic stop on a driver who had outstanding warrants, and Deputy Butler arrived to the scene to assist.

The passenger in the vehicle, now known to be Eric Fiddler, refused to identify himself, MSP said.

When deputies tried to arrest Fiddler, a fight ensued, and Fiddler pulled a handgun for his waistband and shot Butler, according to MSP.

Fiddler ran off into the woods, and Butler was taken to the hospital where he died.

Officers from numerous agencies converged on the area, and set up a perimeter. MSP Aviation, K9 Units, and the MSP Emergency Support Team all helped searched the area.

The manhunt went on until about 6:15 p.m., when officers found Fiddler in a cornfield, near Culbert and Osseo roads.

He refused to surrender, and fired shots law enforcement, MSP said.

That's when troopers returned fire, killing Fiddler.

MSP Lt. Rene Gonzalez was asked how he and his colleagues are doing with this being the second shooting involving a deputy in Michigan this month.

"All I can say is that our officers, deputies, troopers are doing a difficult job out there," Gonzalez said. "We're trying to do, you know, what we're trained to do. And there's times that we're going to run into instances likes this. And most times it's gonna be successful for us, we do our job, but there's times line this..."

"Twice this week we lost a deputy to gunfire, which is too many, too much."

The 33-year-old driver of the vehicle Fiddler was traveling in is in custody on his outstanding warrants. It's not yet clear if he could be charged with anything connected to the shooting, which is still under investigation.

MSP said its First District Investigations Section is conducting the investigation into the shooting of Deputy Butler, while the MSP 5th District Special Investigation Section is investigating the shooting of Fiddler.

In a statement, MSP said Director Col. James Grady and the members of the MSP are heartbroken over Butler's death, adding: "We extend our sincere condolences to the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office and the family and friends of this slain deputy."