While Detroit Cop Remains in Critical Condition, Fellow Officers Raise Money

Patrick Hill/Fox2

Detroit cop Patrick Hill -- part of a federal task force -- was critically wounded in a shootout with a murder suspect about four weeks ago on Detroit's west side.

On Saturday night, while he remained hospitalized in critical condition, suffering from head wounds, his fellow officers and members of the community gathered at the VFW hall in Lincoln Park to raise money for Hill and his family. He and his wife have four children, ages 3 to 16.

Detroit Police Sgt. Michael DiCicco, a close friend of Hill's who played on a traveling softball team with him, spearheaded the fundraiser on Saturday, and said about 1,000 people bought $20 tickets for the event. People also donated money and bought raffle tickets for donated prizes.

"It was a good haul," DiCicco said, declining to disclose the total amount of money raised.

He said the money will help the family. The wife, who is a phsycian's assistant at St. Joseph's Hospital, has taken an unpaid leave to help take care of her husband. DiCicco said she was on hand Saturday night along with other family members.

"She was floored," he said. "It was overwhelming for her to see all those people come out to support her husband.

Hill, who was part of task force headed by the Alcohol, Tobbaco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) got into a shootout while trying to arrest a murder suspect. The suspect was killed by law enforcement. Another officer was wounded during the shootoiut, but was treated and released from the hospital within 24 hours of the shooting.

"He's still in a coma, he's unconscious," said DeCicco who works special operations in the 4th Precinct, which is headquartered in Southwest Detroit.

Originally, it was reported that he was shot in the head multiple times. Reports later came out that he may have been hit by shrapnel or metal fragments, possibley from a car that was hit by bullets. No final report on that shooting has been publicly released.

DiCicco said that people from around the country have been donating money to the Hill family via the Internet. He said so far, about $15,000 has been raised online.

To donate money for the family click here.