Shortly past 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, we stopped in a gas station on Jefferson Street. The few people there were buzzing about a breaking news story happening just a block away.

Eagle photographers and reporters were already being sent to the scene of the incident. Police were starting to tape off the area, as is done at crime scenes. People were gathering on the sidewalks and emergency vehicles had arrived with lights flashing. Sounds like a scene out of Chicago or at least Pittsburgh, but not in our backyard.

Details are still coming in, but early reports to the Eagle indicate that a city police officer responded to a report of a man causing a disturbance on Jefferson Street. While in the process of trying to bring the situation under control, the officer was stabbed by the man causing the disturbance. Were mental health problems involved? Were drugs and alcohol involved? Those are questions that law enforcement will investigate and explain.

What we know at this point is the officer had to respond quickly and with deadly force to escape further injury. The man with the knife is dead and nothing will change that. The officer is hospitalized and will hopefully recover from his wounds.

What has become of our town? Is this just another sign of the times? Is this a failure on the part of society to deal appropriately and fully with 2021 issues? We can’t expect our police and other emergency personnel to confront these problems and not defend themselves to whatever extent is deemed necessary at that instant. No one wanted anyone to be injured or die this morning, but police have to defend themselves.

We suppose all small communities such as Butler are seeing more crime these days, but it is still shocking when such things occur here. Our social media pages lit up immediately after the first post and almost all supported the police officer. None condemned him, but a few asked questions about the mental health of the perpetrator. We thank the readers for that show of support. Answers will be coming and as information as is made known, it will be published.

But that won’t change the blemish put on our streets today. It was one horrible incident, but it gave us a taste of what we don’t miss about big city life and crime. Please support local law enforcement and also the mental health professionals who have to deal with people in these dangerous positions. Our concerns need to include the bigger picture that will make it less likely that another crime such as this will happen on our streets.

— RV