Virginia State Police mourns line of duty death of Special Agent Michael Walter

The Virginia State Police is mourning the loss of its 63^rd member to die in the line of duty since 1932. Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, succumbed to his injuries shortly after 5 a.m.Saturday (May 27, 2017) at VCU Medical Center in Richmond.

Special Agent Walter, a Powhatan County resident, is survived by his wife, Jaime, and two sons and a daughter, ages 14, 9 and 6, respectively.

Walter, 45, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., and graduated Schalick High School in Elmer, N.J. He was a decorated veteran during his service with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1989 to 1994. Prior to joining the Virginia State Police in1998, he also worked as a security officer at MCV Hospital and then served two years as an officer with the Virginia Division of Capitol Police.

He entered the Virginia State Police Academy in 1998 and graduated as a member of the 98^th Basic Session in May 21, 1999. His first patrol assignment upon graduation was in the Virginia State Police Fairfax Division’s Area 48 Office in Springfield. As a Trooper, he then transferred to the Richmond Division’s Area 6 Office in Powhatan in 2005. A year later he joined the State Police Academy staff as an instructor with the Department’s Canine Unit. In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Special Agent and has been assigned ever since to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Richmond Field Office Drug Enforcement Section.

“Mike is well-known not only for his passion for criminal justice, but also for his commitment and passion to bettering the lives of local youth,” said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, at a Saturday morning press conference in Mosby Court. “Mike founded and ran a non-profit organization, the Powhatan Youth Wrestling and Community Development Corporation, through the Black Hawk gym. For him and Jamie, this wasn’t about making a profit. It was about making a difference for disadvantaged youth by mentoring them and fostering their talents through physical fitness and sportsmanship.”