karries thoughts

3 years later

2004-09-11T18:02:00.000-04:00

WOW its already been 3 years since the attacks . I still find it hard to believe that something this tragic happened in our backyard. Before September 11th 2001 i was used to hearing about this stuff happening overseas not here . it took a while for reality to set in that this happened here in our back yard. Today we remember the victims , and the heros, who worked for hours, days, weeks, and months after the attacks searching for victims, and who also had the unfortunate task of cleaning up a huge pile of what used to be the world trade center. With respect to Toby Keith i would like to print up the lyrics for his song " Courtesy of the red white and blue ( The Angry American) because i think that this is how we all felt the hours, days , weeks, months, and now years after the attacks

COURTESY OF THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE...(TOBY KEITH)
AMERICAN GIRLS AND AMERICAN GUYS WE'LL ALWAYS STAND UP AND SALUTE WE'LL ALWAYS RECOGNIZE WHEN WE SEE OLD GLORY FLYIN THERES A LOT OF MEN DEAD SO WE CAN SLEEP IN PEACE AT NIGHT WHEN WE LAY DOWN OUR HEAD

MY DADDY SERVED IN THE ARMY WHERE HE LOST HIS RIGHT EYE BUT HE FLEW A FLAG OUT IN OUR YARD TIL THE DAY THAT HE DIED HE WANTED MY MOTHER MY BROTHER MY SISTER AND ME TO GROW UP AND LIVE HAPPY IN THE LAND OF THE FREE

NOW THIS NATION THAT I LOVE HAS FALLEN UNDER ATTACK A MIGHTY SUCKER PUNCH CAME FLYIM IN FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE BACK SOON AS WE COULD SEE CLEARLY THROUGH OUR BIG BLACK EYE MAN WE LIT UP YOUR WORLD LIKE THE 4TH OF JULY

HEY UNCLE SAM PUT YOUR NAME AT THE TOP OF HIS LIST AND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY STARTED SHAKING HER FIST AND THE EAGLE WILL FLY AND THERES GONNA BE HELL WHEN YOU HEAR MOTHER FREEDOM START RINGIN HER BELL AND IT'LL FEEL LIKE THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD IS RAININ DOWN ON YOU BROUGHT TO YOU COURTESY OF THE RED WHITE AND BLUE

OH JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED AND THE BATTLE WILL RAGE,THIS BIG DOG WILL FIGHT WHEN YOU RATTLE HIS CAGE AND YOU'LL BE SORRY THAT YOU MESSED WITH THE U.S.OF A CAUSE WE'LL PUT A BOOT IN YOUR ASS ITS THE AMERICAN WAY....

Everytime i hear this song i get chills remembering the reason behind it. as we remember the events of september 11th 2001 always remember one thing, ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL, UNITED WE STAND BUT DIVIDED WE FALL. GOD BLESS AMERICA

someone was watching over us

2004-08-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

i just want to go on the record here and say that theres nothing like a rude awakening to really throw an entire day off track for you. i live in a modular home and the speed limit through the park is 15 mph. but apparently some people feel that 15 mph is only a SUGGESTED limit. i live 2 houses in off the corner and theres a stop sign at the corner on my street and also the corner of the street that you take to my house and i cant tell you how many times i have seen people blowing the stop signs. and then you have the other night. it was about 315 or 330 and i was just dozing off to sleep after talking to my boyfriend and all of a sudden i hear one of my neighbors roaring through the park sqealing his tires as he turned the corner. i thought nothing of it at first because he usually does this around this time anyways and usually its twice. however i should have been more alarmed because my dogs started barking like crazy and they wouldnt shut up. and the sqealing seemed to last longer than usual. i laid in bed waiting for him to come back but this time he never did. and the dogs were still barking so i decided that i would get out of bed and see what was gonna happen, if he was gonna come back or what. i walked out into the front room and my mom was on the couch looking out the front window and she said " i heard him hit something" so we decided to go out and see what he hit. i told her i was gonna go back into the house and grab my house phone incase he decided to come roaring back through the park. well as i was walking out the door my mom comes running in the house going " that mother fucker hit our tree" so she went and got my step dad up and as she was doing that i went and looked at the damage and sure enough our tree had been hit. i saw the tire marks on the lawn and my heart started to race because i had my car parked a few feet from the tree. i went on to the passanger side of the car and felt for damage. THANK GOD HE DIDN'T GET THE CAR. my step dad grabbed a flashlight and searched the house for damage there was none thankfully. from the tracks on the lawn he stopped a couple of feet short of hitting the house. our tree was underneath the car. thank god it wasnt a big tree other wise there probally would have been damage. i guess my mom and step dad owe thanks to that little tree, which the park patched up but will have to remove, because had it not been for that little tree, that car may have plowed right through the house and into their room. its funny now because everytime we hear a car speeding through here we all jump. they didnt sleep last night because everytime they heard a car drive by they woke up. we found out later on thursday that it was a police chase and one of the guys that was in the car was arrested and the other one is still on the loose. apparently they both had guns in the car. now this was the second time in as many months that the neighborhood has seen police action of this sort. we were just getting back to a normal way of life after the whole timothy berner man hunt and now this. whats next ????????

to the sawyers family:

2004-07-25T19:11:00.000-04:00

to the entire sawyers family,

the day has finally arrived. in a way justice has been served. the man who took the life of your beloved mark is finally off the streets. i dont know if this is the way that you wanted this nightmare to end or not, but the main thing is, this monster has been located and dealt with. when i heard that he used marks service revolver to kill himself i was shocked, then i heard chief jones say that he felt that mark was there, helping tim pull the trigger. i also believe with what yvonne said, mark was there in florida, making sure that none of the officers and marshalls were hurt or worse. you can finally begin to try and pick up the pieces of your shattered lives and try to move on. please remember that the entire community is behind you. we all keep you very much in our thoughts and prayers. god bless you and may god bless mark as he watches over you from heaven

hes been found

2004-07-25T19:07:00.000-04:00

THE SEARCH IS OVER THE MONSTER HAS BEEN FOUND
ITS NOW TIME TO PUT HIM,DEEP INTO THE GROUND

FOR 7 WEEKS NOW HES BEEN ON THE RUN
CAUSE OF HIS DEATH, DEATH BY MARKS GUN

THE SEARCH FOR THE MONSTER REACHED FAR ACROSS LAND
HOW DID HE DIE? A TRIGGER PULLED BY HIS OWN HAND

THE DAY HAS COME WE CAN REST EASY AGAIN
KNOWING THIS MONSTER WILL CAUSE NO MORE PAIN

WE KNOW YOU WATCHED AS THEY WENT IN FOR HIM
THEY FINALLY HAD HIM, THIS MAN NAMED TIM

AS THEY WENT IN HE HELD THE GUN TO HIS HEAD
HE PULLED THE TRIGGER, AND NOW HE IS DEAD

WHEN THE NEWS FIRST BROKE TEARS OF JOY WERE CRIED,
THEY LOOKED HIGH AND LOW SINCE THE DAY MARK DIED

THROUGH THE CELEBREATION THERE ARE STILL TEARS OF SORROW,
FOR 2 FAMILIES NOW THERE IS NO TOMORROW.

NO CHANCE TO HUG AND KISS, NO CHANCE TO SAY I LOVE YOU,
FOR NOW THESE 2 FAMILIES MUST START LIFE ANEW.

THE SEARCH IS OVER WE CAN SMILE AGAIN,
GOD BLESS YOU MARK ,PLEASE WATCH OVER US,AMEN

THE SEARCH IS DONE

2004-07-25T10:45:00.000-04:00

well well well timothy william berner....

you must have read my blogs because you did the first smart thing since taking mark's service revolver. you finally put it to good use..... ON YOUR SELF. congratulations there buddy. you know chief jones made a great statement today when describing what had happened. while talking about how you used marks service revolver he said something along the lines of i know marks spirit was there helping timothy pull the trigger. and you know what ? i have a feeling that it was. you have no idea the elation that i felt when i first heard the news this morning. finally the man hunt was done. a family can try to pick its shattered pieces and try to move on now. a police force can now officially mourn for their fallen brother and then pick up their shattered pieces and move on. and a community can now rest easy knowing that the search is finally done. i hope that you are happy with the way that you lived out the last 7 weeks of your life mr berner because now you have another family in mourning, your own.

6 weeks and still no capture of "HIM"

2004-07-19T19:23:00.000-04:00

dear mark,

hard to believe but its been 6 weeks already since your life was ripped from you and your family's life was ripped apart. in that 6 weeks your baby girl,lily, celebrated her first birthday, yvonne was alone on what should have been a happy day for the 2 of you, your wedding anniversary, and of course theres the search for the monster.it seems that everytime they have a lead in the case, the hopes are crushed. somehow this monster has managed to stay 1/2 step ahead oh the police and the feds for 6 weeks. homes have been raided and still. no sign of tim.i have every confidence in the world tho that the police and the federal marshalls working the case will find him mark and he will finally be brought to justice for what he did to you, yvonne and lily, and the rest of your family. theres not a day that goes by that you are not thought about by someone. we as a community must continue to stand strong and support our neighbors as we deal with this crisis together. not only for the sake of law officals everywhere, but for yvonne, and lily. we will continue to support them anyway that we can. we will take care of them for you mark until that day when you will be re-united with them in heaven. we know that this is what you would have wanted . god bless you mark

1 MONTH

2004-07-04T03:24:00.000-04:00

mark,
well it's been exactly 1 month since you were shot while finishing an accident report and during that time the local officials and now federal officials have been in an extensive search for the monster who did this to you. its been said that tim shot you because he wanted a gun that he could easily conseal when he went on his bank robbery runs. he felt that the shot gun that he used on you was too big. all of the officials are doing everything that they can, mark, to find "him" and i have the utmost faith and confidence that this monster will be caught and convicted and that your family can finally start to move on with their lives. it wont be easy for them, i know, but the support that they have recieved from the city and the community has been remarkable. the sterling heights police department even had a birthday party for lily the weekend after she turned 1. so you see mark, you may no longer be here to take care of yvonne and lily, but there are many people in the community who are willing to look after them for you, until you see them again in heaven one day. may god bless you mark anthony sawyers

still looking for " him"

2004-06-30T18:53:00.000-04:00

ITS BEEN ALMOST A MONTH NOW AND NO SIGN OF HIM,
NO SIGN OF THIS MONSTER, A MAN NAMED TIM.

THE CITY AND COMMUNITY HAS SCREAMED AND CRIED,
BUT STILL HAVENT CAUGHT HIM, MARK, YOU KNOW THEY HAVE TRIED

THEY EXPANDED THE SEARCH BOTH NEAR AND FAR,
FOR THE MONSTER WHO SHOT YOU AS YOU SAT IN YOUR CAR.

THE SEARCH FOR THIS MONSTER IS FAR FROM DONE,
THEY SAY HE SHOT YOU MARK CAUSE HE WANTED YOUR GUN.

THE SEARCH IS ON FOR THE MAN WHO ENDED YOUR LIFE,
THE MAN WHO TOOK YOU FROM PARENTS, SIBLINGS, CHILD AND WIFE.

AS CHIEF JONES STATED ITS NOW BERNER TIME
LETS GET THIS MONSTER NOW BEFORE HE DOES MORE CRIME.

WE KNOW THAT DAY WILL COME WHEN WE CAN FINALLY SMILE AGAIN
MAY GOD BLESS YOUR SOUL AND YOUR SPIRIT AMEN.

a letter to the sawyers family

2004-06-29T00:09:00.000-04:00

to the entire family of officer mark anthony sawyers :
it has now been 3 weeks since your loving, son, brother, husband, and father was taken away from you so suddenly in a senseless crime. i know that words can not bring mark back but i have the utmost faith and confidence that the monster who did this to your family will be caught and brought to justice. right now it is difficult for you and your family i know, but sooner or later things will change. this monster will be tried and convicted and then you can begin to put the pieces of your broken family back together and begin to move on, but as you move on with you lives always remember this.. to you mark was a loving member of your family, to us as a community he was a young, brave hero who shall always be remembered. god bless you during this difficult time

TRIBUTE TO AN OFFICER

2004-06-27T22:36:00.000-04:00

IT WAS A QUITE, WARM EVENING IN THE MONTH OF JUNE
BUT EVERYTHING CHANGED SUDDENLY AND SO SOON

HE WAS ALONE IN HIS PATROL CAR
WHEN HE WAS SHOT FROM NOT TO FAR

THE MONSTER HAD A PLAN HE'D SHOOT AND RUN
BUT NOT BEFORE STEALING AN OFFICERS GUN

A CITY MOURNS AN OFFICER, A HERO SO BRAVE,
IT ISNT FAIR, HE WAS TOO YOUNG FOR A GRAVE

AS WE AS A COMMUNITY MOURN MARKS LOSS WE CRY
SOMEBODY EXPLAIN, PLEASE TELL US WHY

TO HIS DAUGHTER LILLY AND YVONNE HIS WIFE
WE KNOW THAT MARK WAS YOUR ENTIRE LIFE

TO HIS PARENTS HE WAS 1 OF 2 SONS,
TO THE COMMUNITY HE WAS A BRAVE HERO , WHO DIED FOR A GUN

TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF STERLING HEIGHTS
KEEP UP THE MAN HUNT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT

WE MUST NOW REMAIN BRAVE STAND FIRM AND TALL
FOR BADGE 76 IS REMEMBERED BY ALL

Timothy William Berner

2004-06-27T22:16:00.000-04:00

well mr. berner ( and i use the term mr very loosly when refering to you) it has now been 3 weeks and 2 days since you did the most horrific thing that sterling heights and the surrounding community could think of. shooting one of sterling heights finest. taking not only a police officers life, but you took a son from his parents, a husband from his wife and a father from his child. and for what ??? so you can have a hand gun and continue to raise havok where ever you may go ? well timothy was the death of officer mark anthony sawyers worth the pleasure that you get with the gun that you stole from the crime scene? are you happy with yourself knowing that you had to kill someone let alone a law enforcement offical to get the gun that you wanted? but most importantly TIMOTHY WILLIAM BERNER...are you happy with the fact that you destroyed a families life and a citys innocence just so that you can have your gun ? you might as well enjoy your freedom while you have it you MONSTER because not only are the city of sterling heights police officers still looking for you, now there are 10 federal marshalls hunting your a** down as well. and as for your friends knowing where you are ? you better hope and pray that they dont rat you out because there is a 40,000.00 award out now for your capture. so heres to hoping that the federal marshalls and sterling heights police department find you real soon and get you off the streets. because there will be much rejoicing once you are captured and brought back to michigan to face tthe music over what you did to a family and a community. i hope that you are haunted by officer sawyers death day in and day out. i hope that they sentence you to life in prison and that whe your time on earth is at its end that its a slow and painful death so that you can think about mark and his family day in and day out. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR FREEDOM MONSTER FOR IT WILL BE AT AN END SOON !!!!!!!!!

more random thoughts about the night of june 4 2004

2004-06-26T19:22:00.000-04:00

i was reading the tribute to officer sawyers on the officer down web sight and all my feelings of anger towards the monster who destroyed not only a families innocence but also a communities innocence came flooding back. how do you explain to a 3 year old who so desperatly wanted to go for a walk on june 5th that there would be no walk that night because i did not feel safe enough to walk her down to the park. the suspect who did this horrific act lived in my mobile home park right across from where i would have taken my niece.how do you explain to a 3 year old what is going on when she sees all kinds of police cars driving all over the place. but most importantly, how do you explain to a now 1 year old the reason she will never see her father face to face again ? the moster that did this is still on the loose. and i ask you this TIMOTHY WILLIAM BERNER .......WAS WHAT YOU DID TO OFFICER SAWYERS, HIS WIFE, DAUGHTER, AND FAMILY, AS WELL AS STERLING HEIGHTS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITY REALLY WORTH IT ? WELL ? WAS IT ? DID YOUR KILLING... NO COLD BLOODED MURDER OF OFFICER SAWYERS MAKE YOU HAPPY? YOU HAVE YOUR HAND GUN. i hope that you are happy with yourself for what you did to a family and a community because i promise you this mr berner once the officials have you in their custody, you will not get any sympathy from me . you deserve to be off the streets and locked up in the highest level of security that a prison will allow. and i also hope that they put pictures of mark in your cell at every corner, not so that you can remember how you got your hand gun , but so that you can remember AT WHAT COST you got your hand gun. if anyone is out driving and they see a car with a MICHIGAN LICENSE PLATE NUMBER YSR497 contact 911 or your local police department immediatly. this monster is to be concidered armed and dangerous

a few poems in memory of officer mark sawyers.

2004-06-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

these poems were written by me, karrie, in the wake of a tragic event in sterling heights michigan in early june 2004. sterling heights police officer mark sawyers was sitting in his patrol car in a parking lot finishing up an accident report when someone went up to his car, and shot officer sawyers with a shot gun. the suspect fled in a red camero and has yet to be caught. officer sawyers died the following morning after surgery. here are my thoughts.

A TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN OFFICER:

YOU SAT IN THE PARKING LOT THAT FATEFUL JUNE DAY,
NEVER KNOWING YOUR LIFE WOULD END JUST HOURS AWAY.

THE DOCTORS DID EVERYTHING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE,
IT DIDNT WORK, YOU LEAVE A DAUGHTER AND WIFE.

A CITY WANTS ANSWERS, A CITY'S IN MOURNING
YOU WERE TAKEN FROM US WITHOUT ANY WARNING

WE LOOK FOR ANSWERS AND WE ASK WHY
SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL US WHY DID YOU DIE

YOUR BABY DAUGHTER,NOT QUITE A YEAR OLD
THE MONSTER WHO DID THIS HAS A HEART THAT IS COLD

A CITY MOURNS FOR A FALLEN HERO, A COP
WHILE SCREAMING THROUGH TEARS WHEN WILL IT STOP

THIS MONSTER TOOK A HUSBAND, FATHER, AND SON,
THE SEARCH FOR THIS MONSTER IS FAR FROM DONE.

WE KNOW ONE DAY WE CAN ALL SMILE AGAIN,
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND THE POLICE FORCE AMEN

SEND US A SIGNAL

SEND US A SIGNAL, SEND US A SIGN,
SEND US SOMETHING MARK, WHY DID YOU DIE

IT ISNT FAIR THIS MONSTER ENDED YOUR LIFE,
HE TOOK YOU FROM YOUR BABY DAUGHTER AND WIFE

HE TOOK AWAY THE SAWYERS SON
ALL BECAUSES HE WANTED A NEW GUN

JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS MAKES ME REAL SAD,
KNOWING YOUR BABY GIRL WILL NO LONGER SEE HER DAD

WE ALL WANT ANSWERS AND WE WANT THEM NOW,
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN MARK, HOW HOW HOW

TO YVONNE, WHO WAS YOUR LOVING WIFE,
WE KNOW YOU WERE THE LOVE OF MARKS LIFE

TO LILLY, SHE WAS HIS BABY GIRL.
WE KNOW YOU WERE DADDYS ENTIRE WORLD

TO HIS PARENTS HE WAS ONE OF TWO SONS,
TO US,HE WAS A HERO WHO DIED FOR A GUN

THROUGH THE SEASONS, WINTER,SPRING,SUMMER, AND FALL,
BADGE 76 WILL BE REMEMBERED BY ALL.

SO MANY QUESTIONS

SO MANY QUESTIONS WE WANT ANSWERS TO,
THE FIRST ONE BEING, WHY HE CHOSE YOU

A CITY WANTS ANSWERS, WE NEED TO KNOW WHY
SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, WHY DID HE DIE

WHY DID THIS MONSTER KILL THIS OFFICER SO YOUNG,
WAS IT REALLY ALL FOR A GUN

WHY DID THIS MONSTER TAKE AWAY A FATHER,
NOW MARK WONT SEE HIS BABY DAUGHTER

THIS MONSTER TOOK A HUSBAND FROM A WIFE
I HOPE YOUR HAPPY MONSTER, YOU DESTROYED THIS FAMILIES LIFE

THIS MONSTER TOOK AWAY A SON
WAS IT WORTH IT MONSTER, WAS IT WORTH THE GUN

THIS MONSTER TOOK AWAY A CITYS COP,
I ASK YOU MONSTER, WHEN WILL YOU STOP

SO LISTEN UP MONSTER FOR THIS I KNOW,
ONCE THEY HAVE YOU ITS OFF TO PRISON YOU'LL GO