A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore

State Trooper Mourned in Aftermath of Charlottesvillle Violence

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Mourners will gather to remember one of the two Virginia state troopers who died in a helicopter crash while monitoring a white nationalist protest in Charlottesville.

A funeral for Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Richmond. A private burial will follow.

Authorities say Bates was a passenger in a helicopter providing video to police of activities in downtown Charlottesville last Saturday before it broke off to lend support to a motorcade for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

A funeral for the helicopter's pilot, Lt. Jay Cullen, is set for Saturday.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.