K of C honors Scott Brown, Butch King at Public Safety Awards Night

By Mike Berger

As part of the 10^th anniversary of the Canton Knights of Columbus Public Safety Awards Night, Firefighter/EMT Herbert “Butch” King and K-9 Police Officer Scott Brown and his partner, Bosco, were honored as Firefighter and Police Officer of the Year. The public event was held Friday night, June 18, at the K of C Hall on Pleasant Street.

King, known as the founder of the Canton Emergency Medical Service, was honored for his 42 years of firefighter service. He worked diligently to obtain funding for emergency defibrillation equipment in every school and municipal building in town.

Brown, in a regional search and rescue effort on a cold winter’s night, went into a desolate swampy area and found a woman with Alzheimer’s who was lost for several hours. She suffered from hypothermia, but has returned to good health. In an emotional moment Friday night, the victim, Peggy Halloran, and her husband, Paul, came to the podium to thank Brown for his efforts. The Hallorans are celebrating their 54^th wedding anniversary this year.

Before the event, the K of C played a video honoring the ten years of the Public Safety Awards Night, created by the late Dick Stein, former town animal control officer and a K of C member who felt the town should honor a police officer and firefighter who went “above and beyond what was expected of them.” These awards are annually selected by police officers and firefighters as well as the department chiefs.

In 2001, the first year of the event, then Selectman George Jenkins said in the video, “We can never say enough thank-you’s for keeping us safe on a daily basis.”

Current Selectmen Chairman Victor Del Vecchio said the importance of firefighters and police officers was personally realized by him in 2008 during a box-car rail crash at Canton Junction as hundreds of public safety workers rushed to the scene to save commuter rail passengers injured in the crash.

Police Chief Ken Berkowitz said he appreciates the work of the K of C every year to recognize “Canton’s finest.” He pointed out that just two days earlier a state trooper had been killed on I-95 in Rhode Island after pulling over a suspected drunk driver.

“Every day these people go to work and some may not make it home,” Berkowitz said. “This night means an awful lot to me.”

In recalling the work of Officer Brown, Berkowitz said Brown was following in the proud footsteps of his grandfather, James Sr., and his father, Jim, who had earlier performed so well in the police department. Brown’s father, a former police officer and detective, was unable to attend Friday night’s event because his other son, Mike, was being presented by the Boston Police Department.

In his speech, Brown, who has been a police officer for 13 years, thanked his family and the community, noting several financial donations by various foundations, including the Canton Associations of Industries, for a bullet proof vest and kennel for Bosco. He also thanked Berkowitz, who, as a lieutenant, worked relentlessly to get the funding for the canine unit.

Fire Chief Charlie Doody, in his speech about Butch King, said he got to know King early in his life when he came to the station to visit his father “Bucky.” Doody became trapped in the bathroom and was yelling for help.

“The door flew open and there was a man with red hair and glasses,” he said. “He was another hero to me, next to my father.”

King, who served as a sergeant in the Army during the Vietnam War, became a crusader for EMS service and advanced CPR training during his four decades of service in the Canton Fire Department. He also led the union as president for many years.

“Butch was always for our department,” Doody said. “He was dedicated to our EMS system, which I think is the best in the county and the state.”

Noting that King will be retiring this July, Doody said, “I just don’t know how Butch will be replaced. Wherever I go around the state, people ask, ‘Do I know Butch King?’ He is so well known.”

King, in his acceptance speech, said it has been a pleasure to serve with his fellow firefighters and EMTs, as well as police officers. He called his job as a firefighter “the best job going.”

Proclamations were read by selectmen and from the state Senate and House of Representative as well as from U.S. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown.

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