COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Law enforcement and community members honored the life of fallen Navasota Police Sergeant Mark Butler at a funeral Friday morning at the Central Baptist Church in College Station.
- First responders across Texas gathered to honor fallen Navasota officer Sgt. Mark Butler who died in a police pursuit last week.
- The tribute, primarily planned by the Brazos County Sheriff's Office honor guard, included a procession from Navasota to College Station, bagpipe and drum music, and a 21-gun salute.
- Sgt. Butler will be buried at the National Cemetery in Houston at a later, undisclosed date.
- The Citizens State Bank created the Mark Butler Memorial Fund to support his family. You can donate by check or cash at branches in Navasota, Brenham, Burton, Somerville, Caldwell, Snook, and Deanville or mail them to the City of Navasota at P.O. Box 910, Navasota, TX 77868.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Navasota to 9306," Navasota Police Department dispatch said over the radio.
In College Station, dozens of neighbors and first responders from the Brazos Valley and Central Texas are gathering to remember the life of Navasota Officer Sgt. Mark Butler.
He died last week during a police pursuit, and his brothers in the force are sending him off with honors.
"Navasota to Sgt. Butler," dispatch said.
"We're going to be sending Sgt. Butler with style today," the public information officer for College Station Police Department, David Simmons, said.
Starting with a procession from Navasota to College Station.
Then, leading with bagpipe and drum playing and a 21-gun salute to honor his U.S. Army background and his four years spent at the Navasota Police Department.
"We always pray that we're able to bring some amount of peace to the family, and the loved ones and the brother in arms of these fallen officers," said Trooper Chris Taylor, a member of the Texas DPS Pipe and Drum Corps.
Neighbors assure 15ABC that Sgt. Butler may be gone, but his legacy will live on forever.
"For the City of Navasota, they're hurting. It was a tough day when everything happened, but to see the outpouring of support has been monumental for them," Simmons said.
"Sgt. Butler paid that ultimate sacrifice, doing what he loved, serving the community of what he loved. I was able to speak with tons of their officers and kind of get an understanding of who he was as a person. He was a cop’s cop. He expected his guys because he was a sergeant. He supervised, and he led."
"Navasota Sgt. Mark Butler. Badge No. 9306 is out of service for the last time. End of watch Jan. 25, 2025. A true public servant who gave the ultimate sacrifice," Dispatch said.
