DETROIT (WWJ) – Detroit police are mourning the loss of one of their own after an officer died Monday due to complications of gunshot wounds sustained on the job more than 20 years ago.
Police officials say Officer Lloyd "Mike" Todd succumbed to his injuries, which left him paralyzed on the left side of his body, requiring 24-hour care.
Todd was shot on Dec. 5, 1998 by automatic gunfire on the city's east side while he and two other plainclothes officers were trying to stop a van that was involved in an abduction earlier that day, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
When the van started to flee, Todd, officer Bandy and another officer joined in the chase. When the van slowed down in the area of Nashville and Westphalia Streets – near E. McNichols and Gratiot – a suspect in the back of the van opened fire on the cruisers, hitting all three officers.
Todd, who was driving, was shot in the head, while shrapnel and glass from the windshield hit another officer.
Bandy, who was a passenger in the first cruiser, was hit by multiple rounds in the head, neck and chest. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital the following day.
Todd, a U.S. Army veteran, remained in a coma for more than two months and spent a year in a rehab facility.
He was paralyzed on the left side of his body, lost his right eye, and suffered partial brain damage. He required 24-hour care until succumbing to his injuries on Monday.
Todd had served with the Detroit Police Department for five years before the shooting. He is survived by his son, sisters, and brothers.
"Our heartfelt condolences go out to Officer Todd's family and friends as they mourn the loss of one of Detroit's heroes. Gone but never forgotten," Detroit police said in a statement on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
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