On March 8, 1983, Sergeant Michael J. Bossuyt, a 34-year-old male officer with the Detroit Police Department, was tragically killed in the line of duty. A veteran of the department for 12 years, Bossuyt was a married father of a son and a daughter. The fatal encounter occurred at the intersection of East Forest Avenue and Gratiot Avenue when he intervened in a theft in progress at an arcade.
Sergeant Bossuyt had stopped two individuals who were in the process of stealing a video game
console. During the confrontation, the subjects managed to overpower the officer and gain control of his. 357 caliber service weapon. They then shot him in the head. After the shooting, the assailants fled the scene, taking the officer's handgun with them. The weapon was later recovered after having been discarded in Lake St. Clair.
An investigation into the murder of Sergeant Bossuyt led to the arrest of a suspect. This individual was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the officer's death. At the time of his death, Sergeant Bossuyt was survived by his wife, son, daughter, father, and three sisters.
