A Taylor Police officer caught in a shootout in the parking lot of a Taylor townhouse complex has died and another man remains hospitalized, police confirmed.
Taylor Police Lt. Mary Sclabassi confirmed the officer died from wounds suffered in a hail of gunfire around 6 a.m. today at Coppertree Townhomes on Pine Street near Northline and Telegraph roads. She said police weren’t immediately identifying the officer while they notified relatives.

Police said they would release more information about the incident before 11 a.m. today.

Lt. John Blair said the officer is the first Taylor officer to be killed in the line of duty. He described the officer as a veteran of the force.

“We lost a real good guy today,” Blair said. “It’s a rough day. There are a lot of long faces around here.”

Blair said the other man in the shooting was at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, but his condition wasn’t known.

Neighbors said the cop and another man traded gunshots, perhaps more than a dozen, though Taylor Police were not commenting on details of the incident this morning.

Several neighbors said the gunshots startled them awake around 6 a.m. Neighbors including Lakesha Campbell, 23, said they saw one young man injured, handcuffed and taken away on a stretcher while another neighbor, Jerome Wadsworth, 21, said he saw an injured police officer put into an ambulance and taken from the shooting scene.

“I saw the police officer laying on the ground by his squad car” in the parking lot of the Pine Street complex, said resident Valdez Green, 20. “He was laying out there for about five minutes before backup arrived.”

There was no immediate word on the condition of the other man. Michigan State Police and officers from Allen Park and Romulus were assisting Taylor Police at the scene.

It’s the same Taylor townhouse complex where two men killed 38-year-old mother Wendy Meinke in summer 2006. Both men, Jujuan Willis and Michael Johnson, are serving time in prison.

By MATT HELMS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITE
Source: Detroit Free Press

4 responses to “Police Officer Killed in Taylor Shooting

Posted by Norm Brooks

The murder of Cpl Edwards was the act of a coward who saw the opportunity to take the life of a man who was not only an officer but a son, a husband, and a father. In my over 20 years in law enforcement I have attended far to many police funerals. Any time an officer is slain in the line of duty it effects us all, regardless of the patch we wear on our sleeve. We are a brotherhood and we rely on one another every day. When I learned of the details in this incident, and the actions that were taken by Cpl Edward’s partner to capture this murderer, I cannot even find the words. The actions of this officer were above and beyond ! God Bless the Edwards family.

Posted on August 3, 2010 at 7:42 AM

Posted by frank wood

i was very disturbed by the taylor officer’s death and i am very sure that the wayne county prosecutors officer will do their job to make sure justice is served on behalf of the family and the slain officer.
weather people like or dislike the police it’s important to know that police officers perform dangerous duty on behalf of the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect so it’s more than a job.
to any and all officers of the law please protect yourself and don’t be affraid to take control of any situation you come across, we deputy sheriff’s and police officers must prepare ourself for battle and stay in that battle mode for the duration of our shifts to ensure we stay sharp in order to return home then the battle light goes off until the next tour of duty.

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 8:19 AM

Posted by Michael Duncan

I give my best reguards to the family. DOD Police/Fire Dept.

Posted on July 27, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Posted by Robbielp539

This is why there needs to be a death penalty in Michigan, if not for all murders but at least for cop killers!

Posted on July 23, 2010 at 1:35 PM

Comments are closed.