Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of Detroit-area police officer, prosecutor says

MELVINDALE, Mich. (AP) — A 44-year-old man has been charged with murder in the death of a Detroit-area police officer who was shot while responding to a call about a suspicious person near a car wash.

Michael Lopez was expected to be arraigned Thursday, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office said in a release.

Lopez faces other charges that include being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and drug possession. Court records did not list an attorney Thursday for Lopez.

Officer Mohamed Said was shot Sunda y afternoon in Melvindale, southwest of Detroit.

Lopez allegedly ran after a traffic stop by Said, according to the prosecutor’s office. Said was shot while chasing Lopez who was arrested Monday evening in Southwest Detroit.

Michigan Department of Corrections records show that Lopez was paroled on June 22. He previously served 12 years for carjacking and assaulting an officer in 2011.

Said, 23, had been a Melvindale officer for only 14 months. He was the third Michigan police officer killed in the line of duty in less than a month.

“Policing is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “The alleged facts in this case will show that this defendant callously gunned down and killed 23-year-old Officer Mohamed Said, who was just doing his job and had just begun his career in law enforcement. Tragic does not even begin to describe that happened here.”