(WXYZ) — The wife of a fallen Michigan State Police officer says she wants to help others as part of her late husband’s legacy. Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter died after he was hit during a traffic stop in September. Now his wife is trying to send a message to Lansing about the need to take care of the people who protect others.
There isn’t a moment that goes by that Katie Kerstetter doesn’t desperately miss her husband, Danny.
“Everyone says good things after someone dies, right? But Danny really was the best,” said Katie.
Officer Kerstetter was killed in September after a woman driving an SUV slammed into the back of his police vehicle during a traffic stop along I-75 in Lincoln Park.
Related Story: MSP motor carrier officer passes away after I-75 crash
In an instant, Katie’s entire life shattered.
“Amazing person, amazing father, an amazing husband, a partner in everything. So, it's a huge void. Huge,” said Katie.
Katie says she and Danny had finally gotten their youngest into school, and they were structuring their work schedules to make sure one of them could always be with all three kids.
“They had all started school that week, which was just life changing, right?” said Katie.
But shortly after Katie got to work on September 13, 2024, one of her husband’s State Police colleagues appeared at her door.
“I almost just fell to my knees because I knew what that means. And he came in and he told me that Danny had been hit,” said Katie.
Katie says when she got to the hospital, doctors let her see Danny in the ER.
“She said he had a small brain bleed. He's beaten up, but we thought — he's alert, he's going to be fine,” said Katie.
Sadly, Danny was not fine.
“She starts giving me all this medical jargon. I'm like, 'listen, just tell me.' And [the doctor] said he has blood all over his brain that the prognosis is not good. And I think I just collapsed,” said Katie.
Katie had to take her husband off life support after fulfilling his wish of being an organ donor. And now she’s working to honor another of Danny’s wishes.
Related Video: Funeral for MSP Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter
“I ask you to please take care of the people who take care of you, and just do what’s right. It’s very simple,” said Katie during recent testimony in front of Michigan Senate Labor Committee.
Despite her constant grief, Katie has been spending hours fighting to get several bills that were passed in the final hours of the last legislative session sent to Governor Whitmer’s desk so they can be signed into law. Those bills include HB4665-4667 and HB6058.
“This is what he would want,” Katie told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo. “So, whatever I can do for them. I will be there. I will be knocking on doors. I will be testifying.”
Katie says when she encouraged Danny to change careers and follow his dream of serving as a police officer, they did not fully realize when he entered the state’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division that he would have different benefits than state troopers.
“The risk is all the same, and I think any trooper will tell you, they weren’t afraid of getting shot. They weren’t afraid of anything like that. They were afraid of getting hit,” said Katie.
One of the bills that passed would allow MSP motor carrier officers and state police properties securities officers, State Department of Corrections officers, conservation officers and others the option of buying into the MSP trooper pension program — a benefit Katie calls essential for the many law enforcement officers who don’t make enough money to pay other expenses like health care and child care and also contribute to their 401ks.
“These people do it — not for the money, clearly, they do it to serve,” said Katie. “They need good police officers and how are you going to get good people if you don't pay them what they should be paid, and you just don't treat them well.”
It costs $75,300 to put a motor carrier officer recruit through the academy. Katie says if officers don’t have an incentive to stay, taxpayers are losing out after paying for all of that training if officers leave after a few years for a job with better benefits.
The bills that passed have been caught in limbo for weeks. They never got presented to the Governor at the end of 2024. When the House leadership changed in January, House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo) put nine of the passed bills under legal review.
So, the Senate sued the House over the stalled bills.
“These bills were enrolled, they were ready to be presented on January 8th, and but for the unconstitutional order of the Speaker, they would have been presented,” said attorney Mark Brewer during a recent hearing at the Court of Claims. Brewer is representing the Senate and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids).
“At the end of those two years, the old legislature’s business ceases to exist. That old legislature can’t bind a new legislature,” said attorney Kyle Asher, who is representing the Michigan House of Representatives, House Speaker Hall, and House Clerk Scott Starr in the lawsuit.
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Sima G. Patel listened to both sides during a lengthy hearing on Monday. She questioned the defense argument that bills passed by the last legislature do not have to be presented to the governor, when the Constitution states “every bill passed by the Legislature shall be presented to the governor before it becomes law.”
“That’s not what this situation is, right? This is business that was finished, and now you have this constitutional mandate to present it the governor,” Judge Patel asked during oral arguments.
Late Thursday, Judge Patel issued an Opinion and Order, and issued a declaratory judgment declaring that Michigan's Constitution "requires that all bills passed by the Legislature be presented to the Governor in sufficient time to allow her 14 days to review the bills prior to the earliest date that the legislation may take effect." Her order includes the 9 bills currently under the House Speaker and House Clerk's control.
Meanwhile, Katie Kerstetter says she’s fighting to keep Danny’s memory alive for their children, ages 3, 6, and 13.
“They're the ones that have lost out in this,” said Katie.
She says she’ll also keep fighting for her husband’s colleagues.
“If I can help his colleagues and all police officers get treated the way they should be treated and compensated the way they should be compensated, then it's not all for nothing,” said Katie.
Among the bills that passed but have not been sent to the Governor are bills that would improve health care costs for thousands of state employees, including motor carrier officers and other members of law enforcement.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com