Ex-chief's book tells slain officers' stories

With blaring bagpipes and sobbing survivors, the funeral of a slain police officer is a devastating event.

When former Detroit Police Chief Isaiah McKinnon joined the Detroit force in 1965, he remembers, his police academy superior officer told the class that some of them would be killed on the job and others would forget the names of slain colleagues.

McKinnon made a promise to himself that he would never forget.

He never did.

He started jotting down the names and keeping mental notes. When he became chief in 1994, he discovered that the department kept no formal archive of slain officers.

In 1996, he set out to compose a book and decided to expand it to as many officers as possible throughout the state. The result is "In the Line of Duty: A tribute to fallen law enforcement officers from the state of Michigan."

McKinnon spent the last two years working on the book full time, conducting interviews with surviving families and friends and traveling to libraries across Michigan for information.

The book, published by Turner Publishing Co., came out Oct. 3 and tells of more than 500 officers who lost their lives on the job in Michigan since 1846. The toll of Detroit officers is 219.

For example: In Traverse City in 1998, Sgt. Dennis Finch was shot 50 times by a man with an assault weapon.

In St. Joseph in 1929, Patrolman Charles Skelley died when a gunman shot him three times with a .45-caliber weapon. The gunman turned out to be a member of Al Capone's gang.

In Southfield in 1962, Officer Donald Harding died in his squad car while pursuing drag racers.

In Royal Oak in 1931, Officer Jesse Crowe was accidentally shot and killed by two other officers while they searched for store robbers.

"I want people to know about these 518 people who gave their lives for our state if not for our country," McKinnon said. "I want them to know the stories behind them. I want them to put a picture with the name. I want the families to be remembered."

As a chief from 1994 to 1998, McKinnon said, there was nothing more difficult than notifying a family member about a slain officer. He lost four officers and a cadet during his time as chief.

"It's literally overwhelming," he said. "I never thought about that when I became chief. Those occasions were without a doubt the most stressful times of my career."