Thousands of people, including students, faculty and law enforcement officers, stood in the center of Wayne State University’s campus last night. Some were holding candles, others were holding back tears.
All of them gathered to pay their respects to fallen Wayne State Police Officer Collin Rose.
Officer Rose was patrolling the area west of the school’s campus last week when he was shot while trying to arrest a man who was known by campus police to be troublesome.
The suspect was caught hours after the incident. Rose died the following day.
Andrew Grimm is a fellow Wayne State Police Officer who knew officer Rose. He said seeing the large crowd at the vigil made him feel appreciated.
“I know there's a lot of people that value what we do and how we try to keep people safe and all that good stuff, so it's nice to see all these people out here because usually all you hear about are the detractors,” Grimm said. “It warms my heart, to be honest with you.”
Rose and Grimm worked together on the K-9 Unit for the past three years.
William Terry is also a Wayne State Police Officer.
“We have to rally behind officers like 0fficer Rose. He was a leader in his short career, he was a leader. He exemplified all the good about police,” Terry said.
“We hear a lot of bad about police officers, but [Rose] exemplified the best in us, and we’re here to pay tribute to him and hopefully he’ll have a lasting effect on everybody he’s touched,” Terry added.
The university's president M. Roy Wilson announced that officer Rose would get a posthumous degree during the school's December commencement.
Wilson also said Rose would have a scholarship at the university named after him.
