Police talk about fallen West Bloomfield officer, standoff

West Bloomfield Police Officer Patrick O'Rourke was killed Sunday night while responding to a domestic call.  Tuesday, police officials talked about the fallen officer and the standoff with the suspect.

"He was really the guy that everyone in the police department really, really liked and respected," said West Bloomfield Police Chief Michael Patton, who spoke out Tuesday after an exhausting two days.

O'Rourke was a twelve year veteran of the police department, a loving husband and father of four young children.

Sunday night, O'Rourke and his fellow officers responded to what they thought was a suicide attempt.  Instead, Ricky Coley allegedly fired through doors and walls and ambushed them inside his upscale home.

"The officers went there and responded to the scene concerned about the safety of the person who ended up murdering our police officer," Patton said.

Coley engaged in a standoff with police for 18 hours.  The Oakland County Sheriff's Department moved in, evacuated neighbors and tried to communicate with him.

"I wasn't going to lose another life," said Sheriff Michael Bouchard.  "I didn't want to send my people in there knowing that his mindset was to take people out.  I wanted to get eyes on him and determine where he was and see if we could talk him out."

But to no avail.  Coley was facing legal, financial and marital troubles.  He had until Monday to leave his house per the divorce agreement, but Coley, ex-military, had no plans to go quietly.

"He was firing a lot in all directions.  It was coming out through the walls.  A number of my deputies could hear the rounds going over their head," Bouchard explained.

"We did lose one of our robots to gunfire where he actually shot one of the arms off the robot," said Lieutenant Michael Shaw with Michigan State Police.

Coley is accused of firing on robots that were sent in with cell phones and cameras, cameras that couldn't spot him because he had barricaded himself in an upstairs bedroom using mattresses and other furniture.  He wouldn't respond to police trying to make contact.

"We had a counselor there.  We had a negotiation team.  We worked on that for hours trying to get him to pick up a phone, trying to get him to talk, sending in a phone," said Bouchard.

The sheriff had a psychologist out front on a public address system trying to talk to him.  Instead, he reportedly just kept shooting.

That was around 9:00 a.m. Monday.  The sheriff continued to wait.   With robots unable to spot Coley, he made the call to tear down the wall and send in another robot to try to find him.  He was there lying motionless in a bed wearing military grade goggles and a bullet proof vest surrounded by his cache of weapons.

"The family confirmed... even before we went in that he had a fully automatic uzi.  I know right around him he had a scoped, high power rifle weapon.  He had multiple high powered rifles.  He had multiple knives on his bed stand.  He had handguns.  He was armed, armed and armed," Bouchard said.

Meanwhile, the fallen officer meant so much to so many.

"He was one of our rocks, and we are going to miss him dearly," Patton said.

A candlelight vigil for Officer O'Rourke is planned Tuesday night outside the West Bloomfield Township police headquarters at 7:45 p.m.

Meanwhile, a fund has been established for the O'Rourke family. Donations can be made to the "Officer Patrick O'Rourke Family Trust" at any Bank of America branch. Donations will also be accepted at any West Bloomfield Township facility.