Feb 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 2

AROUND THE COUNTRY
BRIDGEPORT, MI.
Michigan State Trooper Joel Popp was struck and killed by a vehicle along a
stretch of I-75 while conducting a DWI traffic stop.
BRIDGEPORT TOWNSHIP, MI.
- The Bridgeport community is
remembering a hometown hero.
Michigan State Police Trooper
Joel Popp died after he was
struck by a vehicle along I-75 as
Popp and other troopers were
conducting a traffic stop on a
suspected impaired driver.
The driver of the van that hit
Popp, an 81-year-old man, was
hospitalized with serious injuries.
Joel worked in the private
sector for about fifteen years but
wanted to get into law enforcement.
He graduated from the
trooper recruit school in 2020.
Joel Popp was 35 years old
when he became a Michigan
State Police trooper. He was
a graduate of Bridgeport High
School. A friend of Popp says he
married his high school sweetheart,
and they have a young
daughter together.
Lt. Kim Vetter of the Michigan
State Police worked with Popp at
the Tri-City post in Freeland.
“It seems like he had a love for
the job,” says Vetter. “He had a
heart for public service, and we
will greatly miss him.”
“He’s from Bridgeport,” says
Bridgeport Fire Chief Dave Smigiel.
“So there is that much more
connection to the great many
people in this community.”
He heard the call go out that a
trooper was injured on I-75.
“Still has a lot of family relations
and friends here, including
this fire department,” says
Smigiel. “It hit hard. Once we
learned it was him, it was just
that much more shocking.”
The investigation continues
into exactly how the accident
unfolded, but police are looking
at the possibility of distracted
driving being the cause.
“There is a move-over law,
TROOPER JOEL POPP
and people are required to move
over and slow down ten miles
an hour below the posted speed
limit when passing an emergency
scene,” says Vetter.
“People just don’t take the care
that they need to do, and that
is, give us space, slow down, be
aware of what else can be going
on, and it just happens far too
much, and unfortunately, it took
a young man’s life last night,”
says Smigiel.
34 The Blues - February ‘24