DPD honors officer killed; prosecutor adds murder charge against suspect

DETROIT - A Detroit man is now facing a first degree murder charge. He is accused of shooting a police officer while he was resisting arrest.

Sgt. Ken Steil died from complications brought on by the gunshot wound, possibly a blood clot  - the same day he was supposed to return home to his family.

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A prayer outside the Ninth Precinct where Sgt. Ken Steil worked - where his squad car is now a memorial and a testament to the life he led - as an officer, a husband, and a father.

"Working with him he's taught me  when  you get home it's your family time," said Officer Kijuan Anderson.

But on the job, Anderson who worked with Steil on the specials ops team, says Steil was all-in.

"He was a thousand percent dedicated to this community, getting these guns off the street every night," Anderson said. "'The sergeant always said the public doesn't know we're there for them, if we're sitting in an office.' We come out - we work hard."

But Anderson admits the current climate - with so many officers killed across the country - makes being a cop scarier than ever.

"It's so dangerous now - we still go out here -but every day - for the last month - we have felt like one of us is going to get hurt or killed out here," he said.

And now it's happened Monday night as Steil was chasing down 21-year-old Marquise Cromer - a man who had already shot his father - allegedly aimed a sawed off shotgun at Steil and fired - hitting him in the shoulder.

An injury from which he was expected to recover from. Chief James Craig visited him in the hospital.

"He said 'You know I'm glad I took the round and not any member from my team - that's a leader," Craig said.

The man nicknamed 'The Shark' for his expertise on the Detroit Police Dive Team was about to go home from the hospital with his family on Saturday. But sudden complications - possibly a blood clot - ended his life. His family donated his organs.

"Ken is a hero," said DPD Capt. Eric Decker. "(We) asked him every day to go out and do a job and they do it very well, but unfortunately it doesn't always go right. It's very hard to deal with it and hard for our community, our officers. Ken's family is in our thoughts every moment."

"We need our community to continue to support us - just as we support our community," said DPD Cmdr. Charles Mahone.

"Stand with us and denounce threats to kill police officers," Craig said. "You've heard me say it before - these threats are real."

Police are asking the community to show support by stopping by the makeshift memorial and paying your respects. Bring a card, a picture, anything to contribute to the memorial outside the station at  3500 Conner Street in Detroit that will be used in the funeral.