WASHINGTON — A helipad at the Virginia State Police administrative headquarters in Chesterfield County now bears the name of one of its own officers.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe joined some 200 people Wednesday to dedicate the Trooper-Pilot Berke Bates Helipad. It was named in memory of Berke M.M. Bates.
Bates and Lt. H. Jay Cullen were in a helicopter assisting law enforcement officers monitor the clashes in Charlottesville last August when they crashed.
Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Gary T. Settle said in a statement that he hopes that the helipad will serve as a “lasting tribute to Berke’s incredible spirit and legacy.”
Bates, 40, was born in Manassas, Virginia. He became a trooper-pilot with the state police in July 2017, a news release said.
