Roll of Honor
Incident
Sergeant Lee Smith was struck and killed while jogging on Edward Hines Drive in Westland at 10:30 am.
Sergeant Smith drove a department vehicle to an area near the Wayne County Sheriff's Mounted Barn and ran to the facility. He completed supplementary duties at the barn and ran back to his vehicle when he was hit by a car. The driver fled the scene.
The subject was sentenced to 4.5 to 15 years for reckless driving causing death, failure to stop at an injury accident scene causing death, and tampering with evidence.
Sergeant Smith had served with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office for 26 years, assigned to the motor and mounted units, and was due to retire at the end of August. In May, Sergeant Smith received a certificate of merit from the Westland Police Department honoring his efforts in evacuating senior citizen residents during a fire.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, son, two sisters, and three brothers.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-AAB8E169- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
26 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Smith gave the Wayne County Sheriff's Office 26 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Smith.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Lee Eric Smith is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MI, 229 of 718 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.9% of this state's fallen. That is 0.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Wayne County Sheriff's Dept., 2 of 14 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 14.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Lee Eric Smith's cause is highlighted.
How Lee Eric Smith Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced 4.5 - 15 years
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Lee Eric Smith is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
13 officers from Wayne County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw.
