Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling, a detective, was following a stolen vehicle when several individuals exited the vehicle and shot him in the head and chest, according to the preliminary investigation by the agency.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County stated at a Sunday news conference that Reckling had been tracking the 2022 Chevy Equinox, reported stolen earlier that day from Red Oaks Waterpark in Madison Heights.
The sheriff’s office auto theft unit had been alerted to locate the Equinox. Reckling located the vehicle in Detroit and pursued it in an unmarked vehicle, with two other detectives in separate vehicles nearby.
The incident unfolded as an ambush, resulting in the fatal shooting of Deputy Reckling Saturday night in Detroit, Michigan.
Following the attack, Detroit police and Michigan State Police swiftly mobilized, leading to the apprehension of three individuals, according to Sheriff Bouchard.
“They were doing what they do, being good detectives running down a lead on a car that had recently been stolen and trying to locate it,” Bouchard said. “They do that every day, and lots of times they find a car abandoned and they call for a tow truck. This situation turned out not to be that at all. And that’s the other thing about this job. You don’t know what day will become that day.”
