K-9 Officers Pay Tribute to Slain Wayne State Police Officer

DETROIT, MI — Hundreds of police officers and their K-9 officers showed up at Ford Field Wednesday to pay their respects to slain Wayne State University police officer Collin Rose, who died last week after he was shot in the head. Rose trained and worked with K-9 officers for the university.

The officers and dogs, who came from across Michigan and the United States, stood solemnly at attention as the slain officer’s casket arrived at the stadium, where a public visitation was to continue until 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Rose’s funeral Mass is at 11 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc, 22412 Overlake St. in St. Clair Shores. A law enforcement procession will lead to Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, 18201 Clinton River Road, where Rose will be buried.

Rose, who died on Nov. 23, a day after he was shot while trying to arrest a suspect, was posthumously awarded a citation for valor, the highest honor awarded by the department, during a candlelight vigil at Wayne State University Tuesday evening. Only three people have received the citation for valor since the WSU Police Department was created in 1966.

WSU Police Chief Anthony Holt, who hired Rose from the Kalamazoo area five years ago, said the day the officer died was one of the toughest in his career. Rose was the first Wayne State police officer to die in the line of duty and one of only two to be shot since the 1970s.

“He would do anything to help people, and he would do it with that infectious smile he had,” Holt said. “... He always insisted on attending the funerals of other officers all around the state and country ... For all these reasons and for the type of officer he is, I’m rewarding Collin Rose the Citation of Valor.”

Holt also posthumously promoted him to sergeant and head of the department’s K9 Unit, and university President M. Roy Wilson announced a $25,000 endowed scholarship in Rose's name.

Among those attending the vigil was Rose’s 90-year-old grandfather, Clifford Rose, of Battle Creek, MLive.com reported.

“It’s just great the way this community here has turned out for him and I hope that other people understand now what really happened and they get behind the police officers here in this community and help them,” the slain K-9 handler's grandfather said.

If his grandson were still alive, he would’ve been humbled by the outpouring of support.

“He’d say, ‘Oh, Grandpa, don’t do that,’” Rose said. “He didn’t like to be (the center of attention) ... He just liked to do things (to help people), that’s all. He’d help anyone anywhere.”

Rose, who helped train police K-9s across the nation, worked with two police dogs, Clyde and Wolverine, and the three were part of Ford Field’s security team on Detroit Lions game days.

His supervisor, Wayne State Police Lt. Patrick Saunders, told the Detroit Free Press the sight of human and K-9 officers at Ford Field was “just an incredible showing” of support.

“It was a really amazing showing (of) the tightness of that canine police group ... something to really comfort the family, and we just greatly appreciate it,” he said.

“I don’t think any police officer wants to go to a funeral, but I think it makes us proud to understand what the love is in this profession," Saunders added. “It doesn't matter if I’ve ever met you before. If you're a police officer, and I'm a police officer, there's a bond.”

Below, watch the Free Press video of the tribute.

61st Police Officer Killed in Gunfire

DeAngelo Lamar Davis, 31, of Detroit, has been charged with first-degree murder and other felony charges. Bail was denied, and he is being held in the Wayne County Jail. Police have said that Davis has a history of violence with police, including a 2011 incident in which he was charged with two counts of felony assault on a police officer, one of them causing injury.

Rose was the third officer in Detroit to be killed in the line of duty in recent months. Sgt. Kenneth Steil died Sept. 17, five days after he was shot by a suspect wielding a sawed-off shotgun, and Officer Myron Jarrett, 40, who was assisting a traffic accident investigation, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Oct. 28.

Nationally, the number of police officers killed in gunfire is up 74 percent, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. At least 61 police officers have been fatally shot, 20 more than were reported in all of 2015, CNN reported. The highest number of firearms-related police officer deaths was in 2011, when 73 officers were shot.

In Michigan, two other police officers died in gunfire — Berrien County court bailiff Ronald Kienzle and supervising court bailiff Joseph Zangaro. Both were fatally shot by an inmate who tried to escape while at the Berrien County courthouse for a court appearance.

Photo via Wayne State University