Michigan Deputy Bradley Reckling fatally shot while pursuing a stolen SUV
An officer investigating a car theft was shot and killed in an ambush attack in Detroit, Michigan, Saturday night.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling, a detective, was pursuing a stolen vehicle when several people exited the vehicle and shot him in the head and chest, according to the agency’s preliminary investigation.
Reckling was pursuing the 2022 Chevy Equinox after it was reported stolen earlier in the day from Red Oaks Waterpark in Madison Heights, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a news conference Sunday.
The Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft Unit was called in to search for the Equinox. Reckling actively searched for the vehicle, found it in Detroit and followed it in an unmarked vehicle. Two other detectives were nearby in their own vehicles.
“The Equinox eventually stopped, people got out of the vehicle and shot at Reckling,” Bouchard said.
“It was an ambush,” Bouchard said.
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Three suspects were arrested, officials said
Detroit police and Michigan State Police quickly converged on the area and three people were arrested, Bouchard said.
“They were doing what they do: They were good detectives following a lead on a recently stolen car and trying to locate it,” Bouchard said. “They do that every day, and often they find an abandoned car and call a tow truck. In this case, that wasn’t the case at all. And that’s the other thing about this job. You never know what day that day is going to be.”
Deputy Bradley Reckling was the father of three children and a fourth was on the way
The 30-year-old Reckling was married, had three children aged 5, 4 and 1 and was expecting a fourth. He had been with the department for nine years.
“You can see in the faces and eyes of our people how devastating this is,” Bouchard said.
Bouchard asked for prayers and donations to the charity Mission Oakland to help financially support Reckling’s family. For more information on how to donate to Reckling’s family, visit the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
“Our mission is to be there for them,” Bouchard said.
The Detroit Police Department’s investigation is ongoing.
In a statement read by Bouchard at the press conference, Reckling’s colleague, Deputy Matthew Morrison, praised him as a good friend, husband and father to his children.
Reckling “loved the outdoors, was a great fisherman, enjoyed deer hunting and enjoyed tending his farm and raising animals,” Morrison continued. “Brad spent several months remodeling his house to give his wife and three daughters the most beautiful place to call home. Anyone who knew Brad knows that it doesn’t take long for him to start cracking jokes and making him laugh.”
Oakland County prosecutor: “A senseless murder”
Oakland County District Attorney Karen D. McDonald released a statement Sunday acknowledging Reckling’s death.
“On behalf of all the attorneys and staff of the Oakland County District Attorney’s Office, we extend our condolences to the family and friends of Deputy Reckling and mourn with Sheriff Bouchard and all members of the Sheriff’s Department. Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect us,” McDonald said in a press release.
McDonald called the incident a “senseless murder” and a “terrible loss,” adding that it was “also another tragedy caused by gun violence that continues to impose tremendous burdens on our community.”
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Saturday’s tragedy came just a week after a gunman opened fire on families at a Rochester Hills wading pool, wounding nine people, including children. The gunman later committed suicide in his nearby home after it was surrounded by police.
Bouchard stressed the need for mental health resources and crisis meetings for law enforcement at the press conference, citing the high suicide rate among military and security forces. He said he had just flown in several specialists – despite a tight budget – to help his officers process the trauma of the splash pad shooting, but the specialists had already left.
“A lot of people (talk about) healing, but I don’t think the Oxford victims or the MSU victims or the splash pad victims or the victims we see every day are ‘healing.’ They’re learning how to process it, how to put one foot in front of the other and move on. Our people who deal with all of this every day need the same process,” Bouchard said. “They need a healthy way to release some of it, because right now we’re trained to take it. … But after that situation and that critical moment resolves, you have to give them the support and help to process it and get through it.”
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected].
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