(WXYZ) — Retired Detroit Police Sergeant Larry Courts says it still doesn't seem real that his son, 40-year-old Loren Courts is gone, killed in the line of duty Wednesday evening after what police say was an ambush.
"He enjoyed it. He really, he really enjoyed it. And, he was good. He was damn good. He was professional. Solid. Good guy. Good guy," said Larry of his son's commitment to the force.
Officer Loren Courts is described as a great family man who loved his kids and his family.
"He never told me anything about worrying. He worried about us. He always worried about us," said Lillian Courts, Loren's mother.
She says he may not have stopped by every day, but he drove by every day on his way to the second precinct.
"Like he's gonna come down the street flashing the lights to tell him he was going to work," said Lillian.
Wednesday evening Larry learned their son had been shot shortly after he left the house to grab a bite to eat.
"My cell phone rings, and there was no name attached. So usually I don't answer those kinds of calls. But something told me pick up the phone. So when I picked up the phone, there was a female voice on the other end, and she was very hysterical. And I said, who is this? And she said, this is Amanda. And I knew Amanda to be Loren's partner. And she said, Larry! Larry! Loren has just been shot," said Larry.
He heard the sirens and seconds later spotted the convoy of scout cars.
"They were north on greenfield so I assumed that they were coming from the scene of the shooting. So, you know, they were shroom [speeding] so I say I gotta pick my spot. So I finally got into caravan. I'm like, we rolling. You know, nothing was gonna stop me at that point. Because I, in my heart of hearts, I knew it was him in one of those cars," he said.
At the hospital, they would learn with the rest of the family that Loren had been killed. Their own hero gone, leaving behind so many loved ones including two brothers, two sisters, a wife, son and a daughter.
"Loren, he's not just a cop. He was a good citizen, a good person ... good father, husband, brother, son. He was he was all of that. And I'm not embellishing it. And I'm not just saying it because he was my son ... I miss him terribly," said Larry.
The retired sergeant said he never really worried about his son working as a police officer.
"Of all the conversations we had about the job, we never talked about the dangers of it because he understood that. And he saw me come home every night, you know, when he when he was a kid and lived here. I never brought police stories home so we never highlighted on the dangers of it. I would warn him a lot of times to just pay attention, you know, go with your training and your instincts and that's about as much as you can do out there."
If you would like to donate to Courts' family to help with raising his kids, visit their GoFundMe page.
