By Rick Michels
Along the intersection where Evergreen Way meets Casino Road, the cop is parked and keeping watch by a closed down bank. It’s an area the homeless and addicts gather. His lights are on, and he is sitting alone. A woman parks nearby and approaches him, handing him a bag of treats and a bottle of water.
“Byllie, you know it’s dangerous out here,” the officer says, taking the treats.
“I know,” she replies, “I’m careful.”
Dangerous or not, she can’t help it. It’s her calling, and they are her boys: police officers with a warrior spirit, watching over the city they have sworn to serve and protect. So Byllie seeks them out and lets them know she appreciates it. That she cares.
Byllie Ricketts, the woman with the treats, had a heavy heart the morning of March 22, 2023. The 78-year-old single grandmother hadn’t slept well. At 11 PM the night before, she felt a strong, overwhelming need to intercede in prayer. The first hour was intense, but the burden continued for another couple of hours.
Earlier that week she had baked and froze 100 small banana bread loaves. They were for a special group of officers on her mind. The trial had begun for the suspect charged with the murder of beloved Everett Police officer Dan Rocha. His fellow officers, including those who were witnesses to the grisly act, were preparing to testify. Byllie’s heart was in anguish, sensing their pain, the grief, and the trauma that went along with it. She wanted to take the loaves to those officers to encourage them. But learned she couldn’t see them prior to their testimonies because it could potentially be seen as prejudicing in some way the witnesses and their testimony. She could, however, deliver them to the courthouse, where deputies would see to it that the officers would receive them.
As she was preparing to do just that, taking the loaves from the freezer, news came her way of yet another officer down. Just hours earlier, a police crew responded to an armed robbery at the Safeway on Evergreen Way and 75Th Street in South Everett. During the investigation, after multiple suspects fled the grocery, the officer approached one suspect, who fired a gun, hitting the cop in the head. Another officer shortly thereafter shot and killed the assailant. Byllie learned the officer was taken to Providence hospital (and has since been released). Suddenly, her mind and heart shifted to the injured officer, as well as those on his crew who were working alongside their fallen comrade, who had pursued and eventually shot and killed his assailant.
Not wanting to impede the trial in any way, but fervently desiring to bless her fellow officers no doubt shaken by the gunfight and the aftermath, Byllie took the 100 loaves to both the North and South Precinct. The crew who responded to the robbery were taken off-duty, until an investigation could take place. Byllie delivered the loaves, expressing her support for the men and women she loves. From there she returned home with a desire to have a fresh batch ready for the suspended crew when they returned to duty later that week.
Byllie Ricketts’ love and concern for the men in blue has grown from respect and appreciation into a magnificent obsession. The Everett police have grown to appreciate, admire, and love her. And Byllie has done the same for them.
Sonrise’s own Byllie Ricketts is literally driven by a desire to demonstrate the love God has for his servants (Romans 13:4) by (her words, with a laugh) “stalking” the police in her car. When she finds them, she blesses them with a bottle of water and kisses (Hershey Kisses, that is) or homemade cookies, banana loaves, or simply the banana straight for those who prefer their fruit that way. She prays for them, makes them smile, hears their struggles, and feels their pain. Mostly, they smile, laugh, enjoy the treats, appreciate the prayer, pose with her for a selfie, and go on their way. Police wives have told Byllie their husbands spend a lot of their workday thirsty, hence the water bottle is always appreciated.
A thirsty police officer doing a tough job always welcomes water. But it was in 2020 that Byllie’s love for Everett’s finest began to take on greater significance, and bonded the mother/grandmother even more deeply to these men and women she loved. It was in the spring of that year that our local police, through no fault of their own, became villains in the eyes of many who rely upon them for their safety. And they often let them know quite openly how they felt about them.
On May 25, 2020, the nation is horrified as video shot in Minneapolis goes viral. It shows a man laying face down on the street, restrained by a police officer’s knee on his neck. The man, pleading “I can’t breathe,” dies in the video. Pleas from bystanders to the cop restraining him to remove his knee go unheeded. The cop looks expressionless, unconcerned, uncaring. The video shocks the nation, and protests erupt in cities and towns all over the nation, including Everett. An impromptu protest is called for, on Broadway Avenue, in Everett.
A contingent of members from Sonrise, including myself, attend the protest. As Christians, we are told by our Lord that those who are peacekeepers are blessed by God, and those who hunger and thirst for justice will be satisfied. We hoped to find a way to bring the presence of Christ and His peace into a volatile situation. It was a difficult situation. The signs some of our church members brought spoke of peace and reconciliation, evoking the best aspects of the non-violent civil rights movement. The crowd was peaceful and non-violent. But what shook me personally that afternoon was the disdain and anger that spewed forth at times by many protesters against our police whenever they appeared, just as their jobs would call for it.
I remember one police vehicle traveling down Broadway, on business. The cursing and anger that poured out from a good number in the crowd was upsetting. It seemed cruel, and saddened me. It wasn’t everyone. It wasn’t even most of those present. But the vitriol directed at officers whose job it is to protect them, officers who put their lives at risk daily running into danger, and who were one thousand and six hundred miles away from the incident that sparked the protest shocked me. I felt sad for these officers, and a little embarrassed to be there. It wasn’t right. It was cruel. The anger could have been justified to some extent. But these men in blue didn’t kill George Floyd.
These officers, subject of the hatred and cursing, were men like Officer Dan Rocha. Exactly two years later to the day of George Floyd’s death, Rocha put his own life in danger enforcing the law and the safety of the public and was killed doing so.
On May 22 of 2022, just shy of two years from the Floyd incident, Rocha notices a man in a Starbucks parking lot moving a gun from one car to the other. Rocha calmly confronts the man and calls for backup. The man, Richard Rotter, admits he is a convicted felon, and tells Rocha it is a BB gun. Trying to make an arrest (a convicted felon is not allowed to possess a gun), Rotter resists and fires five bullets into Rocha, then runs over him as he speeds off, making his getaway. In the attempted escape, Rotter’s Mini Cooper drives on the wrong side of Everett Avenue and smashes into the car of Dawson Nguon, with his sister and him inside. Rotter also hits the car of Alexandra Pope before he is apprehended (fortunately none were killed or seriously injured, but shaken by the experience).
For all I know, Dan Rocha was one of the men in the police car being cursed the day of the protest (editor’s note: Rotter has since been found guilty by a jury of aggravated murder).
Sonrise people, like most citizens, love and respect their police and are grateful they are here. We know they operate in difficult situations, in which life and death decisions come up on any day that can make the difference between an officer like Dan Rocha coming home that night to a wife and two sons, or leaving behind a widow and two orphans. The crowd that day was agitated. Most did not curse the police, and many if not most were, like me, not willing to portray the Everett men and women in blue as the enemy. There were agitators present who wanted to, well, agitate. I watched as Pastor Dan Hammer shared the love of God to a young man there on the street who had admitted he had been wandering from God. Dan invited him to draw closer again, and that God loved him. I witnessed other peaceful and gospel affirming conversations between Sonrise members and bystanders, as people in the crowd were trying to make sense of it all. Jesus indeed was present in the mob. As He was the day He was crucified, Jesus can bring redemption in the midst of a mob.
Protests come and go, but it is the small acts of heroism that make the difference in our quality of life. It’s the things we do in the day to day life between the newsworthy events that truly matter. And it is in those seeming little things, day by day, where the heart of Byllie Ricketts makes the difference: turning a police force that feels besieged, despised, and unappreciated, to one that feels valued and cherished. The quiet but steadfast support for the men in blue was manifested most clearly in the following May, 2020, by the woman who became a sort of spiritual mother to the officers and the families of the Everett police. To those who are faithful, more is given, and her matronly love has been extending to the forces surrounding Everett: from cities like Mill Creek, to the men and women of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office.
It was in the days following the Floyd protests and riots that Byllie’s presence was most keenly felt and appreciated by her boys in blue.
“Byllie came to the police department in a time when the media and the vocal minority were not very supportive of the police,” Sergeant Robert Edmonds said. “Byllie was the light at the end of the tunnel and her continued support of the police department was affirmation that most of the community really does respect and support us. Almost weekly Byllie would drop off care packages at the police department for the officers.”
Lieutenant Kevin Fairchild of the Everett Police echoes the sentiment.
“Byllie provides almost unconditional support,” Fairchild explained. “She’s there for us. She’s constantly providing snacks, showing up at the precinct or at some of the off-duty location, she’s just that continual presence and support – particularly when we were going through the situations in 2020 and 2021. That movement was very difficult for law enforcement. She was that consistent support and reassurance that there are people who are there for the men and women in blue, who support us and are willing to be vocal about that support.”
“I think what Billy represents to us is the great community support that we have. She’s just kind of that point person for the community in general and the support that we have. So…God bless her for that.”
To more fully understand the love and devotion Byllie has for the roughly 200 commissioned officers of Everett (as well as nearby city and county police), you can hear it in her own words through this interview I did with her in 2021.
Byllie’s importance to the Everett Police has reached the very top of the force, to Chief Dan himself. It was the aftermath of the killing of Dan Rocha when her mere presence spoke volumes.
“I will never forget seeing Byllie on the night of Officer Rocha’s murder,” Chief Dan recounted. “As you can imagine, it had been a long and emotional day for every member of EPD and sometime after 9 pm that night, I returned to the precinct and saw Byllie inside dropping off water and snacks for our staff. While I was initially a little surprised to see her, I quickly realized that I really wasn’t, and that I had actually been expecting to see her that night. I knew Byllie would be one of the first people to stand beside us during our greatest time of need and show her love and support for the Everett police family. Just seeing Byllie in that moment brought a sense of calmness to what had otherwise been a completely chaotic day. I don’t know if Byllie truly understands how much her support means to law enforcement officers in this county.”
To the Everett Chief, Byllie is one of a kind.
“Byllie’s support of the men and women who wear the badge is unlike any other community member I’ve met,” he continued. “She truly cares about the well-being of our officers and has committed her life to protecting, praying and respecting the law enforcement officers who serve our communities. Byllie is warm and kind hearted and has developed a level of trust with many of our officers that has allowed her to connect with them in ways others can’t.”
“Byllie is probably known by every patrol officer and deputy on the street in the South Everett area,” Fairchild, a 26-year veteran of the Everett force surmised. “She continually makes an effort to go out of her way to make sure that our day is better than it started, and that is a blessing that we all need.”
Perhaps it is the steadfast prayer of Byllie that has strengthened the bonds between the Everett Police and through the community. Lieutenant Fairchild noted the community support has not gone unnoticed by other local departments, notably those stationed just south, in Seattle.
“We had officers from Seattle PD that lateral up here, and they were shocked during that timeframe of how they were treated here, that people said, ‘thank you for protecting us. Thank you for your service,’ instead of, you know, flipping them off or throwing something at them,” Fairchild said.
“So, in just that 25 to 30 mile distance there is such a different perspective that our community has, and when Dan passed away, I think that made even a closer, or a tighter, bond between our community and our police department,” he continued.
Byllie shared a recent encounter she had with one of her favorite Everett cops, if indeed she has favorites. It indicates in a powerful way just how much the officers mean to her, as well as what she means to them:
“He (the officer) saw me driving up to the gas station, and rather than get in his car, he walked over to see me. I started sharing with him how I feel the grief they experience when I pray. I talked about the trauma that I feel right now with the (Rocha) trial coming and how incredibly much I love every one of them.
“I told him I always wondered if I was ever an annoyance to them or if they ever ran away from me and he said ‘never.’ He told me he even loves seeing my car. I told him that even if I can’t get to them, I want them to see my car and for it to be a reminder that they’re loved. I could see the appreciation in his eyes.
“He was just precious.”
And so is she.
See my 2021 interview with Byllie here: https://youtu.be/cU4W_bOIxfk
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