Police: Detroit-area man held, said he wanted to kill cops

CENTER LINE, Mich. – Police seized a dozen rifles and six handguns from the home of a suburban Detroit man after a witness reported the man said he wanted to kill police officers, authorities said Saturday.

The man made the threat during a mental health discussion and has been committed to a mental health facility, Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green told The Detroit News (http://detne.ws/2ao3Bq0 ).

“He commented during a session that he wanted to kill a bunch of police officers,” Green said. “The third party then reported it to police.” The tipster told police the man said he “wanted to do something big like in Dallas,” Green said.

The house in Center Line, north of Detroit, was searched Friday. Warren officers pulled over the man’s vehicle. He hasn’t been charged.

The case also is being investigated by Center Line police.

Many police agencies across the country are taking extra precautions after fatal shootings of officers.

In the Dallas attack this month, a gunman opened fire on officers working at a peaceful protest march, killing five and wounding nine others and two civilians before police killed him.

Three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also were killed and three others wounded during a July 17 ambush by another gunman who was shot to death by police.

The police shootings followed fatal shootings of two black men by officers in Baton Rouge and outside St. Paul, Minnesota.

“The threat against police officers is very real,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig told The Detroit News.

Four men have been arrested by Detroit police over the past two weeks after reported online threats against officers.