(WWJ) — Michigan State Police troopers have completed a special operation in honor of fallen trooper Joel Popp.
Operation Guardian Angel, carried out Saturday, led to dozens of citations for “risky driving behavior,” including 40 for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle.
Troopers with the Metro South Post conducted Operation Guardian Angel from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday, focusing on “those offenses that cause most of the crashes in the metro area.
Those offenses include failing to move over for emergency vehicles, in honor of Popp, who was hit and killed by an elderly driver on Jan. 24 while investigating a suspected impaired driver along I-75 near Birch Run.
Popp died the next day. A funeral was held Wednesday, two days before Operation Guardian Angel.
In total, troopers issued 100 citations for a variety of risky driving behaviors offenses including:
• Speeding
• Hands Free violations
• Unbelted Children
• No Seatbelt Use
• No Drivers License
• Driving on Suspended license and
• 40 citations for failing to move over for emergency vehicle
Officials did not say which highways the operation focused on or how many total stops were made.
Popp is the 56th trooper to be killed in the line of duty, according to MSP. The 39-year-old graduated as a member of the 137th Trooper Recruit School after enlisting with the organization in January 2020.