Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Richard Fortin drowned at 3:38 p.m. while attempting to rescue four people from a boat that had capsized in the Detroit River outside Detroit's Renaissance Center. He was wearing a wetsuit during the rescue but did not have on breathing apparatus. The four people in the capsized boat were rescued by nearby boaters. Officer Fortin had served with the Detroit Police Department for 23 years and was a member of the department's volunteer diving team.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter, two sons, and mother.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MI-C717574A- 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
23 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Fortin gave the Detroit Police Department 23 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Detroit community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Fortin.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Richard L. Fortin 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 Detroit Police Department, 58 of 250 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 23.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard L. Fortin's cause is highlighted.
How Richard L. Fortin Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Richard L. Fortin is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
249 officers from Detroit Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
