Fallen Detroit officer honored as 'an American hero'

Shelby Township – Detroit police officer Fadi Shukur’s dream was to help people in need, say family and friends. And he died in pursuit of that goal.

The 30-year-old Shukur died Aug. 15 from injuries suffered when he was struck Aug. 4 in an early morning hit-and-run crash in the 18800 block of West McNichols near Stahelin Street. At the time, Shukur was helping other officers in crowd control near a nightclub.

 Detroit Police Chief James Craig described Shukur as a “true American hero.”

“He was an American hero who served with distinction,” Craig told more than 1,600  mourners packed into St. George Chaldean Catholic Church for a requiem mass.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan directed special comments to Shukur’s widow, Nadeen Maroof Shukur, who married the officer on June 29.

“He would say ‘I’m a lucky man, I got to marry my best friend,’” Duggan said. “His other partners would try to get him to stop somewhere for lunch during their shift and he always said ‘no’ because you packed him a lunch, which was back in the refrigerator at the precinct.”

Craig said Shukur joined the department 18 months ago and was assigned to the Eighth “The Great Eight” Precinct, where he was known for a contagious smile that “would light up a room.”

Duggan said Shukur’s gentle side was exemplified by how he and another officer helped a woman who was distraught because her daughter hadn’t returned home, leaving her to care for a grandchild without a change of clothing.

Shukur and his partner went to a Meijier store, picked up two baby outfits and diapers and took them to the woman.

Duggan told attendees that officers like Shukur are helping Detroit in its turnaround by reducing crime and making it a “great, safe city.”

“The people of Detroit will never forget Fadi Shukur -- God bless you,” Duggan told Shukur’s family, seated a few feet away in the church.

Shukur, who was born in Baghdad, Iraq, became a U.S. citizen in 2010 and served six years in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Carl Vinson. When he was discharged, he went into law enforcement because he wanted to help people, his friends said.

The mass was attended by hundreds of police officers from Detroit, around Michigan and beyond, who paraded smartly in the church behind his flag-draped casket.

The mass included traditional Scottish bagpipes provided by the Metro Detroit Pipe and Drum Corps; a choir that sang "Amazing Grace" in English and prayers in Aramaic, the language of Chaldeans.

Shukur is also survived by parents Anthony Banks and Anita Zia Shilmoun Banks, and a brother, Hani Mukus Shakur.

The coffin, sprinkled with water and incense, was escorted out by honor guard to a funeral procession and burial in White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery in Troy.

mmartindale@detroitnews.com

(248) 338-0319