DETROIT (WWJ) -- Hundreds of police officers and community members gathered in the parking lot of the 12th Precinct to remember fallen Detroit police officer Rasheen McClain Monday night.
McClain, 46, was killed in the line of duty last week. His son-in-law says he died doing what he loved after 16 years with the Detroit Police Department.
"My father-in-law loved what he did and loved to protect everybody here and everybody that he has -- sorry -- he died doing what he loved," Sam Berry said.
McClain was fatally shot by a 28-year-old man with a high-powered rifle after he and his partner, Felipe Batoum-Bisse, had responded to a call of a home invasion in progress. McClain was struck in the neck as he and Batoum-Bisse were walking down stairs in an attempt to catch the suspect, a convicted felon who had broken into a home looking for an estranged girlfriend, near Wyoming and 8 Mile Road.
Hundreds gathered to pray, sing and mourn their loss. Among them was McClain's former partner, Lindsey Shriner, who said she will be forever thankful she got to work with him.
"Anybody who knew McClain knew that he was humble, that he was very silly. He always made jokes, comments to everyone. He was a hero and my life depended on it when I worked with him every day," she said.
Detroit Police Commissioner Shirley Burch tells WWJ she believes McClain's death has left morale low within the department.
"Because you think about it – they’re human and they get in that car, they don’t know if they’re coming back home or not," Burch said. "So I’m sure they’re afraid but they won’t admit it because they are protectors of us and we need, as a people, to appreciate them more.”
No charges have been filed against the man accused of shooting McClain. Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced Monday night a sergeant who was near the area of the shooting last Wednesday has been suspended because he did not respond to calls of an officer down.