Mohamed Said

Corporal Mohamed Said was a 23-year-old male police officer of Middle Eastern/Arab descent who was born and raised in Melvindale, Michigan. A former high school soccer star, he was deeply connected to his community. His police chief recalled meeting Said as a teenager and guiding him toward a career in law enforcement. Said was known for his dedication and his personal commitment to the city’s well-being; his brother remembered him as a “clean guy” who disliked littering, and his chief noted that Said would drive by his parents’ house before every shift, “knowing that he’s doing it to protect his family and the residents here.”

On the morning of Sunday, July 21, 2024, that dedication led to a fatal encounter. Around 11:30 a.m., Cpl. Said was responding to a call about a suspicious person near a car wash at Oakwood Boulevard and Dix Road. There, he approached a man and a woman. According to body camera footage shown in court, the interaction began when Said confronted the man for flicking a cigarette onto the ground. After a brief exchange, the man, identified as Michael Lopez, suddenly fled on foot. Cpl. Said gave chase and deployed his Taser. During the ensuing struggle, Lopez pulled out a handgun and fatally shot Cpl. Said in the head.

The shooting triggered an intensive, multi-agency manhunt for Lopez, who had escaped the scene. The following day, authorities acting on a tip located and arrested 44-year-old Michael Lopez on the porch of a vacant home in Southwest Detroit. In a symbolic act, officers used Cpl. Said’s own handcuffs to take him into custody. Investigators learned that Lopez had been discharged from parole just a month before the shooting after serving prison time for charges that included assaulting an officer. He was also accused of committing an armed robbery at an Auto Zone the day before he killed Cpl. Said.

Lopez was charged with a dozen offenses, including first-degree murder of a police officer, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and drug possession. During a preliminary hearing in August 2024, a judge determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.

At his trial, Lopez took the stand and claimed he had acted in self-defense, stating he feared for his life. Prosecutors argued that Lopez killed Cpl. Said simply because he did not want to go back to prison. After a week of testimony, a Wayne County jury deliberated for less than an hour before reaching a verdict. In late April 2026, the jury found Michael Lopez guilty on all 12 counts, including the first-degree murder of a police officer.

On June 5, 2026, Judge Bridget Mary Hathaway sentenced Lopez to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the tense hearing, which included several outbursts from Lopez, the judge noted that he had shown no remorse. She stated that the body camera footage clearly showed that Lopez “coldly and callously shot Cpl. Said in the head without any justification whatsoever.” As of June 2026, Michael Lopez is serving his life sentence.