Suspect in Melvindale fatal police officer shooting in custody

 

By SUE SUCHYTA

Sunday Times Newspapers

MELVINDALE – Convicted felon Michael Lopez, 44, a suspect in the fatal shooting of Melvindale Police Cpl. Mohamed Said, 26, was taken into custody about 6:30 p.m. July 22 at a vacant house in Detroit.

Assisting in the manhunt were the Michigan State Police; Dearborn and Detroit police departments; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Dearborn police officers will help patrol Melvindale to allow Said’s fellow officers to grieve, as well as to attend the July 25 visitation and July 26 funeral.

Said was shot about 11:40 a.m. July 21 near Oakwood Boulevard and Dix Road in Melvindale, where he was responding to a call about a suspicious man near a car wash. 

When Said approached Lopez, the man ran away. The officer pursued and attempted to electronically subdue him when the man pulled out a gun and shot Said.

Said, who was working alone, had been with the Melvindale Police Department for a year.

When authorities arrested Lopez, they used Said’s handcuffs in his honor, reports said. Lopez winked at a person recording the arrest as he was being led away.

 

During a July 22 press conference held about an hour before Lopez was taken into custody, Melvindale Police Chief Robert Kennaley said Said grew up in Melvindale, and drove by his parents’ house before he started each shift, which reminded him that he was protecting his parents and the residents of his hometown.

“He was an outstanding officer,” Kennaley said. “Said went out there and gave 110 percent – that’s what he wanted to do.”

Kennaley said he first met Said when he was a K-9 officer and was training his dog out on the high school football field, where Said was practicing high school soccer. 

“He came up and asked if he could pet my dog, and I said yes, and then he said ‘How do I be a police officer?’” he said. “So, I basically guided him on how to become a police officer, and we kept in contact the whole entire time until he was of age.”

Kennaley said Said first became an ordinance officer with the department, then, when funding became available, the department sponsored him through the police academy. 

He said Said didn’t have to learn the city streets because he already knew them.

“There’s nothing more that I can say about Mohamed Said except ‘phenomenal,’” Kennaley said. “Every morning, I saw him and asked him how he was doing today, and he’d say, ‘Chief, I’m doing really good. I’ve got you.’”

 

He said he didn’t want people to think of him merely as a fallen officer, but as a person. 

“He had a family that he went home to, he was looking to get married,” Kennaley said. “There were a lot of things on his mind. He wanted to progress. He was looking at becoming a K-9 officer. He was looking at evidence. He was looking at the Detective Bureau. He didn’t want to stop at just being a police officer.”

He said Said was like a son to him, and it was important to him that he was able to help him become a police officer. 

Officer Said’s younger brother, Ahmed Said, 22, of Melvindale, said his brother was a nice guy who always had a smile on his face and who wanted to make Melvindale a better city. 

“Mo loved everybody,” he said. “Mo used to come to the job, like the chief said, he would do 110 (percent). He would do everything.”

Ahmed Said said his brother risked his life for others, and said the shooter might have gone on to kill someone else. 

“Mo took the bullet for someone,” he said. “Mo was a nice guy, and Mo did everything for the city.”

Visitation for Said is noon to 8 p.m. July 25 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. July 26 at the American Moslem Society, 9945 Vernon Highway in Dearborn.