Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire was killed in the line of duty Monday, Jan. 2. His loss is striking a deep chord in Butler County and beyond.

“Shocked. Stunned. Saddened. Angered. Such an array of emotions the community will go through,” said Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe. “Like the law enforcement community, their hearts ache and their blood bleeds blue.”

McIntire, 46, who had been chief of the department in the Allegheny County borough since 2019, was shot while pursuing suspect Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28, of Duquesne. Swan was wanted on a probation violating involving weapons. A Tarentum police officer was shot in the leg, but is expected to survive.

After the shooting, police said Swan carjacked a vehicle and fled into Pittsburgh, where he was shot and killed by officers after an exchange of gunfire.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the Commonwealth flag to fly at half-staff in honor of McIntire. The state flag will be lowered to half-staff until sunset on the date of interment, which has yet to be set.

“Our office will attend the funeral and be part of taking him home,” Slupe said. He said that at least three deputies knew McIntire.

“It reminds those in law enforcement that this job is that dangerous,” he said.

Jackson Township Police Chief Terry Seilhamer echoed Slupe’s thoughts.

“Its always a traumatic event in a crime of violence especially against a symbol of authority like police. People start to get a little bit uneasy when the pillars of society are under attack,” Seilhamer said. “Sympathies with the family. Unfortunately it’s one of the risks of the profession. You just never know.”

He said the level of violence in communities has increased during his nearly 49 years in law enforcement, and officers must be aware of the potential for violence.

“It reinforces the need to be cautious when dealing with any situation. Anything can become highly volatile in the drop of a hat,” Seilhamer said. “It’s getting increasingly more violent. As the years go on, it seems people have less restraint and lash out. There's a lot of guns out there.”

According to statistics reported to the FBI, 59 police officers were killed in the line of duty between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2021, marking a 51% increase in the number of police officers killed when compared to the same period in 2020.

Nationally, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2020. These assaults were reported to the FBI by 9,895 law enforcement agencies. Based on these reports, there were 4,071 more officers assaulted in 2020 than the 56,034 assaults reported in 2019.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the governor-elect, said slain McIntire “ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to community.”

In Butler County, Saxonburg Police Chief Gregory Adams was shot and killed Dec. 4, 1980, at the age of 31.

It was believed Adams was on Water Street when a vehicle sped past a stop sign. Adams pursued the vehicle and caught up with the driver when the man turned in to a parking lot.

Adams used his patrol car to block the exit of the lot and approached the driver's side door. When asked to provide his driver's license, the driver gave Adams a fake ID and then shot him twice. The man then got out of the car and the chief returned fire, but the shots were not fatal.

The suspect then used Adams' gun to pistol-whip him and fled the scene. Adam's weapon was found seven miles away on Cornplanter Road in Winfield Township, and the suspect's car was found in Warwick, R.I.

A suspect in the murder, career criminal Donald Eugene Webb, was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in 1981, but was removed from the list in March 2007.

For years, there was no movement in the case until July 2017, when Webb's body was found buried in his ex-wife's backyard in Dartmouth, Mass. Investigators believe he died of a stroke in 1999.

Massachusetts State Police and the FBI searched the ex-wife’s home in an illegal gambling case, and found a hidden room containing a cane. She eventually told investigators that Webb had shot Adams during the traffic stop, but not before Adams broke Webb's ankle and bit off a part of Webb's bottom lip.

On social media, police and fire departments across Butler County shared their condolences.

Police in Saxonburg, Slippery Rock and Jackson Township shared an image of the thin blue line flag with a Brackenridge police logo at the center on their social media pages.

A number of fire departments did the same, some sharing a message, too.

“We pause in memoriam with our neighbors and public safety colleagues in the Allegheny Valley, Chief Justin McIntire, Borough of Brackenridge (Allegheny County) PD,” the Adams Area Fire District said on Facebook.

To the north, the Bruin Volunteer Fire Department also took to social media on the topic.

“This evening our prayers are with the family, department and community of Brackenridge. What a senseless loss,” the department said Monday in a post.