Retired Detroit Cop Arrested After 2-Hour Standoff

DETROIT, MI — A retired Detroit police officer involved in a standoff with authorities after barricading himself in his west side home early Monday had stockpiled grenades and other weapons, according to media reports.The retired cop, a 27-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department who retired in 2013, was arrested later on drunken driving charges, police said.

SWAT teams were dispatched to the area of Grand River and Abington avenues about 3:30 a.m. after neighbors reported they had hearing 20 or 30 gunshots since midnight, police said. Police said later the weapon fired was an assault-style rifle.

The retired officer fled the home and drove away in his car, but was arrested later, police said. He has been identified only as a 56-year-old man.

Detroit Police Commander Elvin Barren told WDIV-TV that as many as 100 rounds may have been fired from the weapon in the normally quiet Grandmont neighborhood. The back yard was littered with shell casings, Barren said.

No one was injured in the standoff, which ended after about two hours after it started, WWJ Radio reported.

Barren told the Associated Press the bomb squad was dispatched to the home after the grenades, grenade launchers and other weapons were found. At least a dozen guns, including long guns, were found in the home. The grenades were never active, police said after a bomb squad sweep of the property.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating to determine if the guns, grenade launcher and other items are legal.

The home was described as a fortress, with 10-foot electrified fences and huge gates.

“You can’t even go close to his property,” Barren told WDIV.

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