Mortally Wounded Detroit Cop’s Son Speaks For All Police Families

DETROIT, MI — As memorial services are held around the country honoring the nation’s fallen police officers during National Police Week observances, a Detroit family is holding out hope that their husband and father’s name won’t be added to the somber honor roll. Officer Johnson, whose full name has been withheld by police at the request of his family, is clinging to life after he was shot in the head last month while investigating a domestic disturbance, emotionally fraught dispatches that are among the most dangerous assignments for police.

The situation for Officer Johnson is grim. The married father of three is in critical condition at Beaumont Oakwood Hospital, as he has been since April 29, the night he was admitted with the life-threatening wound.

The officer’s shooting caps a horrific string of violence against Detroit police officers. He is the eighth officer to be shot in seven months, three of them fatally. In a wreath-laying ceremony the National Police Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., last weekend, Detroit Police Chief James Craig called the violence “unacceptable” and called on political leaders to make good on their fiery 2016 election rhetoric to stand in solidarity with the nation’s peacekeepers.

Six-hundred miles away in New York City on April 29, Office Johnson’s oldest child, Arin, felt “a weird energy” he couldn’t explain, he wrote on the GoFundMe page he established to raise funds to help out his mother as she sits vigil at her husband’s bedside waiting for his condition to improve.

The post offers a glimpse into what it’s like for police officers’ families when they receive news they’ve been holding their breath against throughout their loved ones’ careers in law enforcement — will he come home safe, will she be shot and dozens of other questions that haunt the families of cops.

On the night his dad was gunned down, Arin Johnson had just punched out of work, a new job, and was preparing for a new semester at his school, where he is studying for a career in healthcare. It was late and he was tired. He ignored what hindsight suggests was a premonition.

Then the text came from younger brother Jaden. Something had happened to Dad. Jaden didn’t say what, and before Arin could ask in a reply back, the first of many phone calls came in.

“I immediately went into shock and panic mode,” Arin wrote, describing his physical and emotional reaction as the truth sunk in that his father had taken a bullet in the head. “For one, I felt live over 600 miles away and couldn’t just drive to the hospital. I felt helpless.

“That was just my reaction to his injury,” he continued. “Imagine my mother’s? His wife? My two younger siblings?”

The family has since been “on an emotional roller coaster,” he wrote, “and it is a horrible feeling.”

Arin started the fund to raise $20,000 to help his mother, who has taken leave from her job as a high school science teacher, manage the busy household and keep life as normal as possible for Jaden, a straight-A high school sophomore with his sights set on a career with the NFL, and “Princess Piper,” who is involved in gymnastics and other activities.

He’s confident his father will recover. He was a boxer before he was a cop, and Arin is convinced that fighting spirit will give him the strength to deliver death a knockout punch.

“My father has gained notable respect from his fellow officers and many accolades within his career,” Arin wrote, “but he is a true fighter at heart ... and that flame is what is healing him each and every day.”

Johnson and his partner were called to Oakman Apartments on Detroit’s west side about 11:30 p.m. that life-altering night in late April. When Johnson and his partner pounded on the door, they were met by an armed gunman, who opened fire, shooting Johnson, police said.

Johnson’s partner returned fire, and fatally shot the gunman, identified as James Edward Ray, 46, The Detroit News reported.

Craig, the Detroit police chief, paid tribute to Johnson during remarks at the ceremony.

“Enough is enough,” he said.

In all, the names of seven fallen Michigan police officers were called during a candlelight vigil marking the beginning of National Police Week, which continues through May 20. That many deaths from Michigan in a single year are more than anyone in Michigan law enforcement circles can remember, Craig has said. They include:

• Branch County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Winter, who died May 31, 2016, after was thrown from his department-issued horse during a Memorial Day parade;
• Detroit Police Officer Sgt. Kevin Miller, who died June 29 of a heart attack during firearms training in Detroit;
• Berrien County Security Supervisor Joseph Zangaro and Court Officer Ronald Kienzle, who were fatally shot by a defendant while they were escorting him from a hearing on July 11;
• Detroit Police Sgt. Kenneth Steil, who died Sept.17, five days after he had been shot by a fleeing suspect;
• Detroit Police Officer Myron Jarrett, who died Oct. 28 after he was struck by a drunken driver while making a traffic stop;
• Wayne State University Police Sgt. Collin Rose, who died Nov. 23, a day after he was shot while responding to an off-campus call about a disturbance.

The prayers of Officer Johnson’s family, friends, colleagues and complete strangers willing, his name won’t be etched on the wall. If you would like to support the family in the GoFundMe campaign, click here.

Photo of Officer Johnson and his family via GoFundMe