Man in standoff dead

Michigan officer inside house fatally shot

A police armored vehicle advances toward the house in West Bloomfield Township in which the officer died.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- A former auto executive suspected of gunning down an officer who responded to a trouble call in an affluent Detroit suburb was found dead in his house Monday evening, police said.

Police had been surrounding the home of Rickey Coley since Sunday night, when an officer was shot and killed while responding to a report of a possible suicide attempt or medical emergency.

Police used construction equipment to tear a hole in a second-floor wall of the home Monday afternoon, then sent in a robot to look for the suspect, said West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste. The robot found Coley's body on a bed, surrounded by weapons, she said. It was not immediately clear if Coley took his own life, police Lt. Tim Diamond said.

During the standoff, police and Coley exchanged hundreds of rounds of gunfire, Ms. Ureste said. About 15 families were removed from their homes.

Coley, 50, was recently divorced and had legal and financial problems in his private equity company. In a lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Labor had accused him of mishandling money.

Police sent a team about 10 p.m. Sunday after getting a 911 call that Coley had tried to kill himself or needed medical attention, Lieutenant Diamond said. Officers called Coley's name as they climbed the stairs to the second floor and were met by shots, the lieutenant said. Officer Pat O'Rourke was one of four or five officers who responded. He was killed by shots fired through a bedroom door and wall, police said. A West Bloomfield officer for 12 years, he was married and had four children.

Lieutenant Diamond said relatives of Coley called 911 and fled the house Sunday after hearing shots. Coley was alone in the house Monday afternoon. The Oakland County Sheriff's Department had been "trying to persuade this guy into a peaceful resolution," the lieutenant said.