Detroit Police Department, Michigan
End of Watch Sunday, October 3, 1993
Add to My HeroesNorman E. Spruiel
Officer Norman Spruiel succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained three weeks earlier while working an undercover murder case.
He was conducting surveillance with his partner while attempting to locate two suspects who murdered and then mutilated two young men. As the officers were finishing up their surveillance for the night they drove a few blocks away to compare notes at Prairie Street south of Lyndon in a dead end.
Officer Spruiel was standing outside his unmarked patrol car when he was shot twice in the back by a man unrelated to the murder investigation. The subject claimed he did not know the two were police officers and thought they were preparing to rob his brother's body shop.
The suspect was convicted of Officer Spruiel's murder and sentenced to 85 years in prison.
Officer Spruiel had served with the Detroit Police Department for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Bio
- Age 43
- Tour 15 years
- Badge Not available
Incident Details
- Cause Gunfire
- Incident Date Monday, September 13, 1993
- Weapon Rifle
- Offender Sentenced to 85 years
Most Recent Reflection
View all 22 ReflectionsTo the family and friends of Officer Norman Spruiel. My name is Jeremiah Becker and im a student police officer of the Detroit police department. I had the pleasure of reading about officer spruiel for my silent partner assignment and I was touched by his story and the comments you all left. I can tell from all this he was more then just a police officer and I pray that someday I can become a man like him. I'll be carrying his name with me for the rest of my career. I hope I can see officer spruiel and speak to him in heaven as well.
S.P.O. Becker
Detoit poloce training center
July 6, 2024
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