By Hasan Dudar
Detroit Free Press
OAKLAND CO., Mich. — Eric Overall, the Oakland County sheriff’s deputy who was killed while trying to stop a suspect during a police chase on Thanksgiving morning, was remembered by friends and family at a funeral service Tuesday as someone who lived his mantra: “Never quit.”
Overall, a 22-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, lived in Genesee County and was recently married. The 50-year-old was honored by a large show of support from law enforcement and first responders at Mt. Zion Church in Independence Township, where many wiped away tears as the deputy’s last call was played over the church speakers.
“It’s impossible for us to make sense out of something (which) by its very nature is senseless,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who choked up while he was delivering a tribute to his deputy who died in the line of duty. “You can’t figure it out — certainly I can’t. But what makes sense and is crystal clear is that Eric was doing what defined him. … He died trying to ensure that no one else would get hurt that fateful night.”
The chase, which began in a jail parking lot in Lapeer County, ended in the death of Overall on a roadway in Oakland County and with the arrest of Christopher Joseph Berak, 22, of Macomb Township.
The actions and threats of the suspect prior to the pursuit posed a threat to the public, Lapeer County Sheriff Scott McKenna said in a news release last week. Traffic was minimal and the pursuit was at moderate speeds, McKenna said.
At the intersection of M-15 and Seymour Lake Road in Oakland County, Overall had gotten out of his car to place tire-deflating stop sticks on the road and end the pursuit of with Berak. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said that the driver deliberately ran down Overall at about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 23. The suspect’s vehicle flipped in the crash.
“When you put down stop sticks, you intend to stop a car slowly, safely, for everyone,” Bouchard said at the funeral. “The worst thing I think in Eric’s mind could be that car continuing down the road and striking a family on the way to a Thanksgiving feast.”
Sonja Overall, the widow of Eric Overall, described her husband as a man of integrity, someone with a kind heart and infectious laugh who was always there for anyone in need, on and off duty.
“He truly left his stamp on everyone’s heart,” Sonja Overall said in her eulogy.
She said the “only ounce of comfort” she can find in losing her husband too soon is knowing that he is with his son, Cameron, who died three years ago. Eric Overall also has an adult son, Ken, who spoke at the funeral.
“His heart beat for those two boys,” Sonja Overall said.
Sonya Overall said her husband had a passion for music — rock, country, and blues — but not so much for singing. A black Fender Stratocaster stood on stage near the podium, along with many flowers.
“He would sit at home and just get lost in making his own music,” Sonja Overall said. “I even promised in our wedding vows to never tell him that he played his guitar too much.”
During the service, a video of Eric Overall strumming an instrumental cover of Pink Floyd’s song “Comfortably Numb” on electric guitar was played. He ended the video with “Never quit.”
Sonja Overall said her husband had a passion for fishing, and the couple had plans to move to Florida so he could become a fishing boat captain.
“He would work his week and as soon as he had a day off, instead of sleeping in, he would get up before the sun rose, and go find the best spot on shore or out in a boat with his friends,” she said.
©2017 the Detroit Free Press