True Warrior: Remembering Richmond officer Seara Burton

(RICHMOND, Ind.) – Richmond Police Officer Seara Burton was shot in the line of duty on August 10, 2022. 

She fought for her life for more than a month before passing away on September 18, 2022. 

Burton responded to a traffic stop where her K-9 partner indicated the presence of drugs. 

That’s when 47-year-old Phillip M. Lee pulled out a gun and fired several shots striking Burton. 

“Three years later, we still feel the ache of this tragedy, but we also feel her presence in the way we serve, in the way we care for one another, and in the way this community remembers her,” said Richmond Police Chief Kyle Weatherly. 

Burton was shot just weeks before she was supposed to get married to her soulmate, Sierra Neal. 

While Seara was hospitalized at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton,  her fiance walked down the aisle to her hospital room. Watch that video by clicking here.

"This walk was supposed to look a lot different, but I will always be thankful we still got to celebrate. Even if it is not legal on paper, you are my wife,"  Neal posted on TikTok. 

“Seara will always be part of the Richmond Police Department family, and her family will always be part of ours,” Weatherly added. 

WATCH: A Southeast Indiana resident honored her friend Seara Burton during a softball game in Lawrenceburg in 2022.