On July 6, 2022, Detroit Police Officer Loren Courts gained his hero wings, while he was shot and killed in the line of duty. He leaves behind his wife Kristine and two children ages 15 and 9. Kristine and Loren were married 11 years and built a beautiful family and life together. All money donated will go to raising his children. The family needs time to heal and process his loss without having to worry about bills, groceries and other costs.
Loren with son Darian |
Loren with daughter Devyn |
Loren was a Detroit Police Officer of 5 years. He followed in his fathers footsteps. He loved serving his community. His wife Kristine, son Darian (15) and daughter Devyn (9), called him their Batman! They have a long road ahead of them as they navigate these hard times. Loren is the Son in Law of Voice of the Veteran CEO, Bob Maxwell (a former Police Officer himself) and asks that you send them prayers and please consider the GoFundMe page for Loren’s wife and two children. The GoFundMe page is located at https://gofund.me/39e005d7
Wife of slain Detroit Police Officer:
‘He was an amazing Dad, my best friend,
and our Batman’
by Bob Maxwell, CEO, Voice of the Veteran
Father-in-Law to Officer Loren Courts
Father to Kristine Courts
Grandfather to Darian and Devyn Courts
Wednesday, July 6, 2022, was a sad and tragic day in the City of Detroit for a wife, children, parents, brothers, and sisters as well as the entire Detroit Police Department, who are all in morning due to the senseless and cowardly ambush killing of Detroit Police Officer Loren Courts.
Loren and Kristine were united in marriage on June 11, 2011 (6/11), which correlates with his badge number of 611 that he personally requested. Officer Courts leaves behind his wife Kristine, and two children, Darian 15, and Devyn 9. He also leaves behind his Father Larry, Mother Lillian, 2 brothers Larry Jr. and Lance, 2 sisters Leslie and Lynette and a host of other family members including his Detroit Police Department Family.
When Loren first told me that he was joining the Detroit P.D., I was extremely proud of him. I told him “you will be great! You are made for that career”, and he was. Officer Courts was successful in everything he did throughout his life. He was strong physically, fit, quick, a great mind and a great soul. Everyone who came into contact with him saw his traits, abilities and talents. He was a proud member of the Detroit Police Department and they were proud to have him on the force. Loren’s father, Larry is a retired sergeant with Detroit P.D. and was thrilled that Loren was carrying on the legacy.
Detroit P.D. tweeted in May that Loren was honored with a citation for a 2021 incident where he and his partners arrested a suspect for shooting three people, killing two of them. According to DPD, Loren responded quickly and arrested the suspect.
Loren’s wife, Kristine, posted on Facebook remembering him.
“He was an amazing dad, my best friend and the man I married. All the news articles talk about is a DPD Officer. He was so much more to me and the kids. Our Batman!” Kristine wrote on Facebook. “I’m broken, I can’t begin to imagine how we are going to live without him. My babies need him. I need him. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from this nightmare and he’s going to come home.”
How it happened
While responding to a “Shots Fired” call, Officer Courts and his partner were ambushed, Officer Courts was shot while still in the patrol car and backing up to put more distance between the car and the subject with the gun. As Officer Courts and his partner exited the patrol car to take cover, Officer Courts was already hit in a major artery and was dying. Officer Courts collapsed, and his partner started applying pressure to the wound.
Shortly thereafter, the coward with the Draco assault pistol came outside of his 2nd floor ambush position and was walking toward Officer Courts and his partner, pointing the 7.62 semi-automatic Draco assault pistol with a banana clip, at the two officers. The weapon is very similar to an AK-47 and is designed to fire, in quick succession, and multiple rounds. This is not a hunting weapon; it is designed to kill.
As Officer Courts lay dying in the street at the hands of a coward with a weapon he should have never had, two more Detroit Police Officers quickly came up to Officer Courts and shot and killed the coward that killed Officer Courts. You will not see the perpetrators name in this article because he does not deserve any recognition other than coward.
The coward got what he deserved, now look at the devastation that he caused. He took Officer Loren Courts from us way too early. He left a wife, now a widow and two children without their father. A Father, Mother, brothers and sisters without their loved one. A city and police department without a great police Officer and an amazing man to say the least. The Detroit P.D. investigation will show facts about this case that may not be expected. It could show that the coward shooter ultimately wanted “suicide by cop”, but that is to be determined.
“Tonight, we lost a hero in our department. Regardless of what side of the political aisle you’re on, on this issue of gun violence, there’s entirely too much gun violence in this city and too much gun violence in this country, and now we have an Officer who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Detroit Police Chief James White said during a press conference. “The officers are heartbroken and they are constantly doing exactly what this community needs and what we want them to do, and that’s putting their lives on the line and work very hard for this city and this department day in and day out”.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan spoke with the Officer Courts family and said they described his service and work in the community as his calling. “We owe a debt of gratitude to all the officers out there working and tonight, we have an Officer and a family with a debt that we can never repay,” Mayor Duggan said. “This entire city is holding the family and their hearts tonight and we will be there every step of the way in the difficult days ahead.” “How do you tell a mom and a child what I just told them. It’s outrageous,” Chief White said. “(The family) is heartbroken. Their soul is crushed. This is the worst day of their life and dad is not coming home, husband’s not coming home and it’s unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable.”
How the weapon was obtained
The weapon (Draco Assault Pistol) was purchased by Sheldon Thomas who is 26 years old and illegally sold it to the coward and made a $50 profit. Sheldon Thomas met with the coward and entered the Action Impact gun shop together, where the illegal transaction took place. The transaction was illegal because Thomas lied on the paperwork, saying that he was purchasing the weapon for himself and not for anyone else. These allegations were detailed in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, where 26-year-old Sheldon Avery Thomas was charged with lying about a gun purchase he made in June, pretending he was buying it for himself but then handing it over to the coward outside a White Castle hamburger joint for a $50 profit.
The coward allegedly got the gun one month (prior to killing Officer Courts) from Thomas, who made a virtual appearance in federal court and was charged with making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, a federal crime. He was ordered temporarily detained pending a detention hearing.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, following the July 6 killing of Officer Courts, federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency conducted a trace on the weapon that was used in the killing — a Romarm/Cigir, Draco, 7.62-caliber pistol.
ATF agents also reviewed video surveillance from the same store on June 7, records state, as well as paperwork that Thomas filled out when he bought the Draco pistol and indicated that “he was the actual buyer of the firearm.”
“Thomas signed his name certifying his answers were true, correct, and complete … (and) signed the form acknowledging that providing any false statement on the form was punishable as a felony under federal law.” That same day, surveillance video from neighboring buildings showed Thomas carry the pistol and meet with the coward in the parking lot of a White Castle in Eastpointe.
The investigation would eventually lead federal agents to Thomas’s home.
ATF agents obtained a federal search warrant and raided Thomas’s home in Detroit that same day, recovering the following items:
- A Draco pistol sales record for Sheldon Avery Thomas, bearing serial number 21DG-3219.
- Receipts from Action Impact for a “Century Arms Draco”, containing serial number “21DG3219”, and two boxes of ammunition.
- The bottom of the Action Impact receipt contained a section that stated, “Loyal Customer: SHELDON THOMAS.”
The gun shop has stopped all sales of the Draco Assault Pistol since the coward killed Officer Courts. We hope they keep it that way because we will know if they stay good to their word, and so will you.
Could this killing have been avoided?
The killing of Officer Courts is more than tragic, it is something that had the possibility to have been completely avoided. How you ask? Here is an article from the Detroit Free Press. You be the judge.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said Friday members of his staff were “devastated” in their belief the fatal shooting of a Detroit police officer might have been averted if his office had more help with a current case that might have put the suspect behind bars earlier.
His office is simply understaffed, Lucido said.
“My Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys are good people, overworked and now devastated in their belief that had they had more hands, this Warrant Request might have been processed sooner and the perpetrator may have not been on the street,” Lucido said. Compare this statement to the one below and ask yourself… how did this guy get elected?
But, Lucido continued, “it is both foolhardy and inappropriate to predict whether that warrant being issued sooner would have resulted in law enforcement promptly locating him to arrest, or a bond being set that would take him off the street.” But wait, there’s more. In another account, the June incident where the coward fired his weapon into a crowd of people at a prom party, no charges were brought against the coward. The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office says they were waiting on a ballistic analysis and other evidence before signing off on a four-count felony warrant.
“We wanted to send it out and have the state police look at some evidence that needed to be looked at before any charges were issued. And as a result of his death that had happened yesterday, it appears that there maybe is a closure of this file,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido.
Prosecutor Lucido says this is one of several cases that have gotten hung up. He also said there is a lack of staff in his office, which is causing delays. Okay, we are back to this again. Maybe, just maybe this office needs to be investigated to determine the real reasons of why the delays in cases and the over worked staff in an area that has such a small amount of crime, especially violent crimes for one of the safest areas in the United States
We feel that Lucido’s comments are both foolhardy and inappropriate for him to even think about saying, but moreover, it is pathetically ignorant to say it. Lucido’s statement shows his arrogance towards law enforcement and a lack of support to say the least. It is a major league slap in the face to local, state and federal law enforcement. With his mightier than thou mentality, it’s obvious that he has little faith in law enforcement or the judicial system.
In a report by NeighborhoodScout.com, Macomb is safer than the majority of cities, towns, and villages in America (90%) and also has a lower crime rate than 85% of the communities in Michigan, according to NeighborhoodScout’s analysis of FBI crime data. How risky is that? Your chance of becoming a victim in Macomb is one in 288 based on the total crime rate (violent and property crimes, combined). In America overall, your chance of becoming a victim of crime is 1 in 43. It is also obvious to us that Prosecutor Lucido has a problem with prioritizing serious cases. Maybe it is because there have only been 62 violent crimes this year to date, or maybe the Police Officer’s are doing a great job and are very proactive unlike some people in office. Let’s think about this; 62 violent crimes and 257 property crimes, for a total of 319 crimes. We have no idea what these crimes are because Macomb County does not participate with FBI Crime Statistics. This begs the questions, do property crimes have a higher priority than violent crimes? Why didn’t the Macomb County Prosecutor’s office take the case of the coward shooter more seriously? The case in question was a multiple count warrant request for the coward shooting a 9mm Glock handgun into a crowd of people on June 9, 2022, 28 days before the same coward killed Office Courts. This case and warrant request should have taken precedence, but it did not! Prosecutors have immunity from prosecution, so why should Lucido be worried? Who polices the prosecutor’s? There are so many more questions, but yet there are some many excuses.
According to the American Bar Association, 1)The prosecutor’s office should exercise sound discretion and independent judgment in the performance of the prosecution function. 2) The prosecutor serves the public interest and should act with integrity and balanced judgment to increase public safety both by pursuing appropriate criminal charges of appropriate severity. 3) A prosecutor whose workload prevents competent representation should not accept additional matters until the workload is reduced, and should work to ensure competent representation in existing matters. A prosecutor within a supervisory structure should notify supervisors when counsel’s workload is approaching or exceeds professionally appropriate levels. 4) The prosecutor should know and comply with timing requirements applicable to a criminal investigation and prosecution, so as to not prejudice a criminal matter. This just scratches the surface. Maybe this prosecutor should be investigated since he is so busy with one of the safest counties in America.
Additionally, NeighborhoodScout analyzed all cities and towns in America with a similar population size to Macomb, and we found that the crime rate in Macomb is one of the lowest in the nation for its size. This means Macomb is one of the safest places in America in which to live for its size, a very important finding.
Now let us turn to take a look at how Macomb does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Macomb.
For Macomb, NeighborhoodScout found that the violent crime rate is well below the national average for all communities of all population sizes. Violent crimes such as assault, rape, murder and armed robbery happen less often in Macomb than in most of America. One’s chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime here is one in 1490, which is a violent crime rate of 1 per one thousand inhabitants. Is the blood of Officer Loren Courts on the hands of Prosecutor Lucido?
Furthermore, our research shows that motor vehicle theft, arson, burglary, and larceny are not very common in Macomb compared to most US cities and towns. In fact, the rate of these property crimes in Macomb is just 3 per one thousand people, far below the national average. Based on this rate, Macomb is one of the safer communities in America with regard to incidences of property crime. Thank you NeighborhoodScout for a job well done!
A long road ahead for the widow and the children
Kristine Courts is a strong, great and loving mother, but she has been thrust into being a single mom and not by choice. She has to care and provide for her and the children, pay all the bills, maintain the house and household and do all the things that her and Loren did together. Now she has to do everything while grieving for her husband and the mental anguish that will always be with her. She is going to need support in many ways, such as emotional, help in and around the house, financial help to raise the children, and God only knows what else.
There have been a good number of excellent people who have reached out and I am personally impressed with the Detroit Police Department and the outstanding people within it. Kristine also has amazing siblings, 2 sisters and 1 brother. The family support is always going to be there and she has an outstanding 18 year old nephew who is a great young man with a bright future and has already been a big help.
Kristine’s entire post is below.
“Yesterday my husband, my children’s father was killed in the line of duty for Detroit police department. I write this not for you to say I’m so sorry but because this man was so much more than a police Officer. He was an amazing dad, my best friend and the man I married. All the news articles talk about is a DPD Officer. He was so much more to me and the kids. Our Batman! I’m broken, I can’t begin to imagine how we are going to live without him. My babies need him. I need him. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from this nightmare and he’s going to come home. I’m completely heartbroken me and my babies will never be the same. I already miss his hugs, his voice, his jokes, and his smile with those eyes. Rest In Peace daddy, we will never stop loving you.”
