MELVINDALE, Mich. – A man convicted of first-degree murder and 11 other charges in the killing of Melvindale police officer Mohamed Said was sentenced on Friday to life without parole.
Michael Lopez, 44, of Southfield, was found guilty on April 28 of all counts stemming from the July 21, 2024, incident, which reportedly began when Said asked Lopez to pick up a cigarette he had flicked on the ground and ended with Said getting fatally shot in the head.
Appearing in 3rd District Court for his sentencing before Judge Bridget Mary Hathaway on Friday, Lopez expressed very little remorse for his actions, claiming that Cpl. Said was “unstable” and that he “feared for his life” during their interaction.
After reading his sentence, Judge Hathaway noted that screenshots from Said’s body camera clearly established “that the defendant coldly and callously shot Cpl. Said in the head without any justification whatsoever.”
Prior to the sentencing, prosecuting attorneys read several heartbreaking statements from the victim’s family members, followed by an in-person statement from the victim’s brother, Ahmed Said.
“I’ll never forget that morning, waking up to phone calls,” Said’s brother, Ahmed Said said in court. ”I will never forget chasing the ambulance that carried my brother..."
After the statement, Ahmed Said addressed Lopez directly, telling him to “go to hell,” at which point Judge Hathaway asked him to leave the courtroom.
Judge Hathaway also had to briefly remove Lopez from the courtroom before the sentence was read, after Lopez lashed out at both her and prosecutors.
“You don’t deserve to be sitting up there,” Lopez told Hathaway. “Put that on the record.”
Related: Man accused of killing Melvindale police officer removed from courtroom after another outburst
In her reading of the sentence, Judge Hathaway reiterated that Lopez has shown no remorse, adding that the jury’s brief deliberation before coming to a unanimous decision on all charges said a “great deal about the overwhelming evidence against the defendant and complete lack of merit in his claim of self-defense.”
“Cpl. Said deserved to come home safe to his family at the end of his shift,” she said. “If Cpl. Said had not encountered this defendant, someone so determined to not go back to prison that he was willing to brazenly shoot Cpl. Said, then he would have.”
Lopez was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge; 5-15 years for counts 2-7; and mandatory two years for counts 8-12, with credit for 683 days served. Counts 2-12 include felony firearm, possession of firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person, carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, and possession of ecstasy and cocaine.
Lopez expressed his intentions to appeal.
“I will continue to use the righteous system that is in place [to fight the verdict],” he said. “I’m not doing it to cause any more pain to his family and friends, but I’m doing it to fight for my life, like I did that day.”