Michigan sheriff’s deputy shot dead in vicious ambush as community reels from ‘soul-crushing’ loss

A veteran Michigan sheriff’s deputy was gunned down in cold blood Saturday night after the cowardly driver of a stolen car jumped out and opened fire without warning, officials said.

Bradley Reckling, a nine-year veteran of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in Detroit and a married father of three, spotted the hot car and pursued it – only to be shot down when the driver jumped out.

“It was an ambush,” county Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a press briefing, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday. “You can just see in the faces and the eyes of our people how soul-crushing this is.”

Reckling, 30, first spotted the 2022 Chevy Equinox, which was reported stolen earlier in the day, while on duty in the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights and followed the vehicle while radioing into headquarters.

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Once inside the city, the thugs pulled over, jumped out suddenly and opened fire on the cop – striking Reckling in the head and chest and mortally wounding him.

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“Three suspects have been taken into custody and more details about that will be released later,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook on Sunday . “Deputy Reckling was a nine-year veteran and a much-beloved member of our team.

“He is survived by a loving wife and three beautiful girls, 5, 4 and 1, with one more child on the way,” the post said. “He was a friend and trusted partner to countless other members of our agency.”

The department said it is raising funds for Reckling’s family through the Mission Oakland charity.

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In a statement Sunday , Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald said she “was shocked and saddened” about Reckling’s death.

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe,” McDonald wrote. “This was a senseless murder and a terrible loss for our entire community. It’s also another tragedy caused by gun violence, which continues to take a tremendous toll on our community.”

McDonald’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more information on the suspects.

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