The son of a Detroit police officer killed in the line of duty two years ago couldn’t have his father by his side as he started his first day of school.
But the men and women of the Detroit police department made sure he wouldn’t have to face his first day of kindergarten alone, either.
This past Friday, five-year-old P.J. Hill and his older sister were given a full police escort on the first day of class at Tyler Elementary School in Belleville, Michigan.
“He has one central father, he always will. But he always has surrogate fathers, many, numerous, throughout the police department,” Detroit Police Sgt. Gregory McWhorter told KOAA News in Detroit, Michigan.
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With a heavy heart but a smile on his face, P.J. arrived at Tyler Elementary in a massive armoured police vehicle, escorted by SWAT team members and flanked by officers on motorcycles and in cruisers.
“I’m excited,” Hill told reporters outside the school. Then, excitement gave way to a somber remembrance.
“I used to sit in the front seat [of my dad’s cruiser].”
A 12-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, Officer Patrick Hill was killed in a shootout with a wanted murder suspect during a traffic stop on April 2, 2013.
According to police, 23-year-old Matthew R. Joseph was pulled over in connection with a murder investigation by Detroit Police and a U.S. Marshall when he opened fire on the officers, striking both Hill and Officer Jeffrey Pacholski.
However, police believe Hill was killed when a pellet from a shotgun blast, possibly fired by another Detroit police officer, ricocheted off a vehicle’s hood and struck him in the head.
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Hill, a University of Michigan graduate nicknamed “Wolverine” by his fellow officers, was held in hospital for months before doctors determined his condition was irretrievable and removed him from life support in October 2013.
He left behind a wife and four children including J.P., then only three years old.
“Patrick was real police: hardworking, dedicated, intelligent, consummate professional and ideal teammate,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at Hill’s funeral.
“His teammates loved Patrick for his work ethic, great sense of humor and for knowing they could always depend on him to have their backs when needed.”
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