Detroit police officer writes Facebook post on child shooting: 'He is why we do what we do'

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A Detroit police officer who helped save the life of a 7-year-old shot Tuesday night, took to social media the day after.

Police officer Chris Rabior wrote a powerful post on Facebook about the shooting in which a boy was in critical condition near Fairview and Mack. The shooting left the boy in critical condition with a suspect, Torrey Craft, eventually turning himself in Wednesday morning.

Rabior's post which went up at noon, was shared by the Detroit Police Department on its page. He talks about the challenges of being a police officer in Detroit and the emotions he went through when a routine night was turned upside down with a child's life and death situation.

"Just prior to the end of my shift, I found myself lifting the nearly lifeless body of a 7-year-old boy from the back of our scout car and onto a stretcher for staff waiting on his arrival. I don't even know the boy's name. I don't know his mother's name. My hands should have been busy tapping away at a keyboard, writing a report about the four guns we got off the street earlier in the shift. Instead my hands were covered past my elbows in the blood of a child."

Rabior's post starts with people wondering why he would "ever want to work as a police officer in Detroit" adding that he's been assaulted before, shot at and felt hatred directed at him due to his uniform.

His post ends with him describing why he and so many others who chose to wear the uniform, do so with pride.

"He made it through surgery," Rabior wrote. "He's listed critical due to his age and the amount of blood he lost. But he's alive.

"I don't know his name, but I'll never forget his face. He's why we do what we do."

Read the entire post below:

"I know a lot of people wonder why the hell I would ever want to work as a police officer in Detroit.

"It's an absolutely crazy place to work. I've been shot at. I've been assaulted. Pretty good odds my nose has been broken once or twice. I've seen terrible things. I know the smell of gunfire, the smell of death, the smell of decomp. I've had to listen to firsthand accounts, and see the results first hand, of how horrible people can be to one another.

"I've been the focus of hatred directed towards me solely based on the uniform I chose to wear. I've been threatened by gang members. I've been promised shootings by people we've caught on felonies that 'next time, we're gonna bang it out.'

"Just prior to what should have been the end of my shift, I found myself lifting the nearly lifeless body of a seven year old boy from the back of our scout car and onto a stretcher for staff waiting on his arrival. My partner expertly drove at ludicrous speeds to get him there while I gave his mother instructions on how to control the bleeding between giving updates to dispatch on our ETA and location.

"I don't even know the boy's name. I don't know his mother's name. My hands should have been busy tapping away at a keyboard, writing a report about the four guns we got off the street earlier in the shift. Instead my hands were covered past my elbows in the blood of a child.

"He made it through surgery. He's listed critical due to his age and the amount of blood he lost. But he's alive.

"I don't know his name, but I'll never forget his face. He's why we do what we do."

To see it on Facebook, click here.