Sandy MaloneScranton, PA – Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department Officer Brian Bouton died at home surrounded by family on Dec. 12 after battling two types of cancer for more than a year.
Officer Bouton served in the Special Investigations Unit of the Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department (WBTPD), The Times-Tribune reported.
He was also a full-time member of the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office and continued to work both jobs as the sole provider for his family until his medical condition made him unable to serve as a law enforcement officer.
Officer Bouton was much loved in the community and held the distinction of having been the first WBTPD officer to ever be awarded the Wilkes-Barre Township Medal of Honor, WNEP reported.
The commendation awarded to Officer Bouton after an incident in 2015 when he moved his police car between a suspect and officers during a prolonged gun battle outside a Walmart in Wilkes-Barre.
Officers testified at the trial of the gunman that Officer Bouton risked his life to shield other officers from the gunfire from the shooter’s semiautomatic rifle.
The gunman was later convicted of attempted murder of police officers and remains incarcerated, WNEP reported.
Officer Bouton was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma as well as HLH Cancer in 2020, according to a GoFundMe page initially established to assist his family with medical expenses for his advanced cancer treatment in a hospital in Philadelphia.
The 34-year-old hero is survived by his wife, Emily, two daughters, and one granddaughter, The Times-Tribune reported.
A funeral mass in celebration of Officer Bouton’s life was held on Dec. 17 at St. Ann’s Basilica in Scranton, followed by interment at Cathedral Cemetery.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Wilkes-Barre Township Police Officer and Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Bouton, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.
Holly Matkin
