As the memorial continues to grow at the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office one honor comes from some of Council Bluffs’ youngest residents.
Every hour, dozens of people went to the Pottawattamie County Jail and Sheriff’s Office on Friday to show their respect and honor Deputy Mark Burbridge. He was killed on Monday while transporting an inmate to the jail from the courthouse.
Balloons, flowers, signs of encouragement, and bible verses on Dep. Burbridge’s cruiser all show how much law enforcement means to the community.
One person who works at the jail and sheriff’s office said the support has been overwhelming.
On the back of the cruiser there’s a simple “thank you” with the handprints of children from Heartland Child Development including pre-kindergarteners Boston Curtis and Bryn Reese.
"Handprints made out of our hands,” Boston, 5, explained. "Black and blue."
“Because the police officer got hurt," Bryn, 5, added.
The center says they often discuss how law enforcement officials are community helpers.
"We're very cautious in discussing the situation with the students, we never want to overstep what families are sharing with their children at home,” said Merilee Mescher, Director of Administration for Heartland Child Development. "This week we just discussed with them that an officer had been injured we wanted to let them know that we were thinking about them and we wanted to let them know that we cared and we were sad about what had happened."
The U.S. Honor Flag made a stop here as well late Friday afternoon while it's on its way to Washington DC.
