A celebratory and somber night in Royal Oak, as the Royal Oak Police Department is honoring it’s own and celebrating a drop in crime, on the same day as a deadly officer involved shooting.
At Monday’s regularly scheduled Royal Oak City Commission Meeting, the city held the annual police awards.
To mark the beginning of the meeting, Royal Oak Mayor Mike Fournier, acknowledged the morning’s deadly and tragic events.
"Early this morning we lost a member of our community in a tragic incident. Our hearts go out to everyone involved, especially the family of the young man we lost, When tragedies like this occur, we often find ourselves trying to make sense of the situation, we find ourselves demanding simple answers to societies most complex problems. I ask, for now, that we come together and show compassion for the young man, his family and the police officer involved,” said Fournier.
It was after 3:00 a.m. Monday when officers were called to a home on Hudson Ave. for a domestic dispute.
The 911 caller said her son had stabbed her and hit her husband over the head with a guitar.
When officers arrived, they found 20-year-old Cody Reynolds outside the home, the last moments of his life were caught on dash cam video.
He stopped and put his hands up, but then unexpectedly rushed at the officer, who fired several shots, striking and killing Reynolds.
This shooting comes on the heels of another officers involved shooting last month on April 10.
Royal Oak Police shot and killed 28-year-old Antonio Gordon after an incident at White Castle on 13 Mile and Coolidge.
Officers said they tried to stop Gordon during a traffic stop, he fled and then attempted to ram police with his vehicle.
"These are two separate and unique instances, when you look at overall what's going on in Royal Oak. It's exactly the opposite, our crime rates our way down,” said Royal Oak Police Chief, Corrigan O’Donohue.
During Monday night’s meeting the chief celebrated the department’s successes.
"I'm very pleased this year we had a record number of officers receiving a life saving awards something we are very proud of,” said O’Donohue.
Crime is down for the the city. The annual police report noted that Royal Oak saw a 48% drop in burglaries and a 15% drop in serious crime for 2017.
The two officers involved in the shootings are on paid leave. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shootings.
