Tuesday will mark one year since Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Burbridge was shot and killed by a prisoner at the jail.
On Saturday the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County will be unveiling the Horses of Honor exhibit in memory of Burbridge outside the Squirrel Cage Jail. Mark was a volunteer for the Historical Society and spent time working on many projects at the hsitoric Jail.
The project mirrors the Horses of Honor in Omaha and in Chicago, where the project originated from. The public event will be held on April 28th, 2018 at 3:00 PM at the Historic Squirrel Cage Jail which is located next to the Pottawattamie County Courthouse.
Artist Jefferson Davis painted the life sized statue the same shade of blue as his beloved 1969 Ford pick-up. Artist Jefferson Davis painted the Horse of Honor statue with memories of the fallen deputy. "Everybody that was closest to him kind of got together and they compiled a list of information that were things that were important to them and important to Mark and those are the things we're gonna put on the horse."
Burbridge's family and friends each got to paint a portion of the statue to share some of the important moments of his life. "That gives them ownership of the project, I think that is a helpful part of the process to heal. He also says it was important to "create the ultimate tribute to a man that gave everything, including his life, for his community."