Benjamin Louis Short, a 29-year-old male Detroit Police Officer, tragically lost his life on Friday, March 25, 1994. An officer with seven years of service, he worked undercover in the department's narcotics enforcement division. On that fateful night, while off-duty, he was at the Tropical Hut Lounge on Livernois Avenue in Detroit with his partner.
Around 1:00 a.m., a fight broke out inside the bar.
Observing the altercation escalate, Officer Short witnessed one of the individuals involved in the brawl produce a handgun. Without hesitation, he intervened in an attempt to de-escalate the dangerous situation. It was during this heroic act that he was fatally shot.
The sudden and violent death of Officer Short left a profound void in the lives of his loved ones. He was a devoted husband and a new father, survived by his wife and their two-month-old son. Despite the clear circumstances of the shooting, publicly available information regarding any arrests or the identification of a suspect in the years following the incident is not available. The case has been noted in various law enforcement memorials, remembering his ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, even when he was not officially on the clock.
