An off-duty Detroit police officer with 13 years in the department was shot and killed by his colleagues after he opened fire on two fellow cops dispatched to his suicide-in-progress.
The suicidal officer, 45, was wearing his uniform and armed with a “high-powered rifle” when the two officers responded to a 911 call at his home.
When the responding officers arrived, he started firing into the air before turning the gun toward his colleagues and “asking for suicide by cop,” Detroit Police Chief James White said at a news conference Monday evening.
The officers took cover behind their vehicle as the mentally ill cop shot the back of their car multiple times, White said.
The off-duty officer shot one of his colleagues in the thigh and the other in the leg. One of them fired back, fatally wounding the 45-year-old, according to the police chief.
“Upon arrival, they hear gunshots. The suspect is identified as a member of our department. He is a member of our special response team,” White said.
“He is off duty. He is threatening suicide. He is asking for suicide by cop.”
Both of the responding officers are in stable condition following the shoot-out, White said.
The suicidal officer had been working through a serious, physical “degenerative condition” that forced him to take time off. He had only just returned to “full duty” service with the Detroit police department on Oct. 3, White said.
The officer — whose name was not released — had no previous mental health issues, the chief added.
He was part of the precinct’s special response team that is charged with handling some of Detroit’s most sensitive cases.
“They go after the most violent perpetrators. They go to barricaded gun people. They go to people who are barricaded in homes and in buildings, such as he was — active shooters,” White said.
“They are extraordinarily trained in what they do, and they get some of the best training that we have to offer.”
Michigan State Police will be handling the investigation going forward.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan recognized the incident as a “tragedy for the city.”
“The worst call I get is one that says officers have been shot, and we are fortunate today that the two officers who were responding here that their injuries are not life-threatening,” Duggan said.
“It’s a reminder of the courage the officers in this department show every day. They went to that scene knowing they were going to be confronted by a highly trained and harmed officer in the department who was having significant mental issues.”
Detroit police have been plagued by mental health crises for years, responding to a record 7,554 calls in the first seven months of 2023 — with about four a day involving armed citizens, the Detroit News reported.
The city’s police department announced that it would be reshaping the Crisis Intervention Team in 2022, including adding officers solely dedicated to mental health-related calls.
Law enforcement personnel are 54% more likely than those in other fields to die by suicide, according to a 2021 study published by the National Library of Medicine.
“We’re not immune to the mental health crisis in this city, in our country and our state. It affects everybody,” White said.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
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