Bill Text: VA HJR177 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2018-02-08 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ177ER) [HJR177 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HJR177-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates of Quinton, a dedicated law-enforcement officer with the Virginia State Police and a beloved husband, father, son, and brother, died in the line of duty on August 12, 2017; and
WHEREAS, born and raised in Manassas, Berke Bates graduated from Brentsville High School in Nokesville; he later attended the University of Tennessee, where he played hockey; and
WHEREAS, after beginning his law-enforcement career with the Florida Highway Patrol, Berke Bates returned home to the Commonwealth and graduated with the 107th Basic Session of the Virginia State Police Academy in August 2004; and
WHEREAS, for three years, Berke Bates served on the Virginia State Police Executive Protection Unit, where he was entrusted with safeguarding the lives of Governor Terence R. McAuliffe and his family; and
WHEREAS, an amateur fixed-wing pilot, Berke Bates fulfilled his dream to become a law-enforcement aviator when he joined the Virginia State Police Aviation Unit in 2017; and
WHEREAS, Berke Bates made the ultimate sacrifice near Charlottesville while providing helicopter support to officers on the ground; and
WHEREAS, Berke Bates served the Commonwealth with integrity, and his sacrifice is a reminder of the dangers bravely faced by law-enforcement officers and first responders throughout the United States every day; and
WHEREAS, Berke Bates will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Amanda; their two children; his parents, Kathleen and Robert; his brother, Craig; and numerous other family members, friends, and fellow law-enforcement officers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, a respected Virginia State Police aviator; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.