Officer Seara Burton, 28, a four year veteran and the first female K9 officer for the Richmond Police Department was shot in the head on 8/10/22 and passed away on 9/18/22 at 9:59 p.m., thirty nine days after being shot. She and her K9 partner Brev were called about 6:30 p.m. to assist with a traffic stop Burton responded to assist other officers with a traffic stop near North 12th Street and C Street in Richmond. Burton stopped a man riding a moped and used her K-9 partner, Brev, to conduct, an open-air sniff. Brev alerted to the possible presence of narcotics. While officers were talking with the suspect the driver of the moped, Phillip Matthew Lee, opened fire with several shots striking Officer Burton in the head. Other officers returned fire and chased Lee until he was shot and apprehended. After the shooting officers recovered the gun used in the shooting, a black Ruger Max 9 mm with a 10-round magazine in it. Court documents show the following drugs and paraphernalia were found in Lee’s scooter. Two small plastic bags containing a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine. One small plastic bag containing a substance that field tested presumptively positive for cocaine, One small plastic bag containing a substance that tested presumptively positive for heroin. Burton was taken to a local hospital before being air lifted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton,Ohio. Lee was transported to a Richmond hospital after being shot. Officer Burton’s K9 partner Brev was not injured during the incident and is currently being cared for by one of the investigators that was a former K9 handler. Officer Burton and her fiancée, Sierra Neal, were scheduled to be married on 8/19/22, just nine days after Officer Burton was shot Officer Burton was taken off life support on 9/1/22.Officer Burton was transferred to hospice facility in Richmond at Reid Health Facility on 9/3/22 where she passed away sounded by family members. K9 Brev was retired from the Police Department and is now living with Seara’s mother and stepmother.
Prosecutors have filed three attempted murder charges against Phillip Matthew Lee, 47, the man accused of shooting Burton. Lee of Richmond has been held in jail on a $1.5 million bond. Lee’s criminal history shows it dates back nearly three decades, starting with a six-year sentence in Wayne County for burglary in 1994.Lee has served other sentences on felony convictions for other burglaries and drug possession charges, meaning he is a convicted felon and should not have had a weapon.He also served time in Randolph County for burglary in 2004.In 2019, Lee was arrested for fondling a child under 14, but that case never went to a jury trial. Prior to his trial, Lee will have a pretrial conference on February 3, 2023 for the murder of Officer Burton. His trial is set to start on 2/10/25.
Officer James S. Smith
9/13/22 – Liberty, Ohio – Age 56
James S. Smith, 59, passed away peacefully on 9/13/22, at his home, following a four-year battle with cancer. Jim was a Liberty Township police officer for 25 years, retiring in 2017, and previously was an officer in Struthers for five years. He started the first K-9 unit at the Liberty Police Department. His K-9 co-officer was Valor, who saved his life twice on duty. He became the department’s first police K9 handler in 1993. Officer Smith was instrumental in creating the K9 program, the first the department ever had. and getting policy made throughout the state of Ohio that K9 officers are able to purchase their dogs after 5 years. Jim attended the Youngstown State University Police Academy. Jim was a member of Fraternal Order of Police and Knights of Columbus.. He played semi-professional football for the Youngstown Cobras. He owned and cared for 26 husky sled dogs and traveled to race them. He was preceded in death by K-9 police dog, Valor. Memorial contributions may be made to New Lease on Life (animal rescue), 2773 E Midlothian Blvd., Struthers, OH 44471.
