Sergeant Rasheen Phillipe McClain

Rasheen Phillipe McClain

Sergeant Rasheen McClain was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call in which a woman’s boyfriend had broken into her home and threatened the occupants with a firearm.

When responding officers arrived on the scene, they encountered the victims outside. They informed Sergeant McClain that the man was inside the home and armed. Sergeant McClain and other officers began clearing the home to locate the subject. They had cleared the main level and the second floor before beginning to clear the basement.

As they made their way down the basement stairs, the man emerged at the bottom and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle, striking Sergeant McClain in the neck and another officer in the leg. The subject was wounded by additional officers after running outside the home. He was taken into custody one block away as he attempted to flee on foot.

In January of 2011, the suspect, then 20, shot his 19-year-old girlfriend in the shoulder. He was sent to prison and paroled in March of 2019. The suspect was charged with 16 felonies, including first-degree murder. On May 17, 2021, he was charged with the murder of two men; one on November 17, 2019, and the other the next day, both killed in Detroit. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 46-60 years in prison.

Sergeant McClain had served with the Detroit Police Department for 16 years and was assigned to the 12th Precinct. Survivors include his wife and three stepchildren.

Sergeant McClain was posthumously promoted to sergeant.