In a show of support for the family of fallen Michigan State Trooper Chad Wolf, community members opened their wallets to donate thousands of dollars last weekend and illuminated the exteriors of their homes with blue lights in a display of solidarity with law enforcement everywhere.
Groveland Township firefighters conducted a ‘boot drive? Sept. 5-7, collecting donations at the intersection of Grange Hall Road and Dixie Highway, near Groveland Station #1, 14645 Dixie Highway.
‘So far we have raised over $43,000 and we’re still taking donations through Sunday (Sept. 13) at Station 1,? said Groveland Fire Chief Steve McGee, who noted many people were crying and expressing their gratitude as they made their donations. ‘One hundred percent goes to the family of Chad Wolf. He was a kind, gentle man, and really there to make the world a better place…He was doing it for the right reasons, which makes it even more sad.?
MSP Trooper Wolf, 38, died Aug. 28 after his motorcycle was struck by a vehicle while he was on patrol in northern Oakland County. He is survived by his wife, Erin, and their four young children, Autumn, Mikah, Korbin and Koltin. He also left behind thousands grateful for his dedication to serving the public and a law enforcement family that knows well the dangers faced by police officers daily and are heartbroken by his sacrifice.
Melissa and Richard Clark, Brandon Township residents, are part of that family in blue. Richard has served as a police officer for 17 years, and since 2000 has been with the Sterling Heights Police Department. Melissa was planning a similar career path, studying criminal justice, when she met her husband-to-be. The couple will celebrate 10 years of marriage later this month and have two children, Bryce, 9, and Rhylie, 7. Knowing the dangers of the job and the difficult schedule of police officers, often working holidays and odd shifts, Melissa chose a job outside law enforcement for the sake of their family. She is proud of her husband and his colleagues and their families, and she recently rallied her neighbors to also show their support.
The Clark family has shone blue lights on the exterior of their home since they moved to the township in 2014. Now, several of their neighbors in the Long Lake subdivision have blue lights shining, too. The blue lights symbolize support for all police officers.
Their neighbors began turning the subdivision blue after Melissa posted a message on Facebook a few days after Wolf’s death, suggesting that placing blue bulbs in their garage and porch light fixtures would be a great way to show support.
‘I came home from vacation and blue lights were everywhere,? said Melissa. ‘When we explain to people the meaning, they think it’s cool. It means so much.?
Melissa notes that in the week Wolf died, nine officers were lost in the line of duty nationwide, three the same day. Their families are eligible for assistance from a non-profit organization, the Thin Blue Line, whose mission is to help after such tragedies, or during times of hardship when an officer has been injured or disabled while on the job. The Clarks are part of the Thin Blue Line family.
‘It takes a very special personality to be able to live this lifestyle,? said Melissa. ‘You can’t always worry that he might not come home. It’s always a possibility, but if you allow yourself to be consumed, you would be a nervous wreck.?
She doesn’t panic when Richard is talking with her on the phone and suddenly says that he has to go. When he hangs up and she doesn’t hear from him for three hours or more, or on days when he doesn’t respond to text messages, she takes it in stride. She can think of only one scenario in which she knows her calm would be shattered, and that is if a police car showed up in her driveway. She knows too many of her thin blue line family who have faced that terrible reality, as Trooper Wolf’s family has.
In such awful circumstances, she, as so many others did this week, reached out to show their support, hoping to shine light in a family’s time of darkness.