Reporter Reflects on Loss of N.C. Police Officer 'I Asked for Help'

Just over one month ago, I learned from a group of eight Greensboro Police officers about the high risks they take to respond to active shooters. Among the instructors was Officer Michael T. Horan, 44, who lost his life in the line of duty on Monday.

A father and husband, Horan is standing beside me in a group photo taken with the instructors.

Since his death, I’ve learned how much Horan meant to his friends and fellow officers.

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He was a pal who surfing buddies from 30 years ago still called for laughs and chats about favorite bands like The Clash.

He was a mature officer young cops looked up to and modeled.

He was the heroic vacationer who in 2019 swam 60 yards and pulled a father and son from a rip current at Emerald Isle.

He was a dad whose Facebook photos showcased his love for family, the seas, and the New York Giants.

How could such a life be gone — and so suddenly?

Horan, as the first officer to respond to reports of an armed and suspicious man inside the Food Lion at 4709 Lawndale Drive, was fatally shot about 11 a.m. Monday after a brief struggle with the suspect, according to the State Bureau of Investigation. Tarell Isaac McMillian, 34, of Greensboro, was arrested a few hours later and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Plenty of questions remain about why the suspect was armed inside the supermarket. And few details about McMillian’s interaction with Horan have been released by authorities.

McMillian could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted. He is being held without bond in the Guilford County Detention Center.

The homicide, the 43rd this year in Greensboro, marked the second death of a GPD officer in less than one year. Sgt. Dale Nix died in the line of duty on Dec. 30.

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Along with a half-dozen other reporters from television and radio outlets, I took part that November afternoon in a two-hour training session in which the teaching squad outfitted us in body armor and with replica’s of Glock 9 mm pistols.

Next, officers coached us in how to most safely enter rooms to confront active shooters, how to clear vast spaces, the ways to race alongside fellow officers in formations that protect them from gunfire and optimize their view.

Horan, who seemed modest and smiled easily, wore gray tactical pants, an instructor T-shirt and a ballcap. He shared a bit of his biography with us, mentioning his service in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served for 18 years prior to joining the Greensboro Police Department.

In fact, Horan was the officer I asked for help from when I had questions about how to hold my training pistol. He patiently showed me how to place my hand free from the threat of recoil.

Training the force

In late summer, Horan and the seven other officer instructors put the department’s 630-plus sworn officers through Rapid Deployment Training, a rigorous 16-hour course filled with role play. Officers also spent time studying and analyzing strengths and weaknesses of police responses to mass shooting incidents around the nation.

The course was new for the department because it utilized “force-on-force’’ techniques and equipment that gave officers non-lethal wax bullets to use in gun replicas to approximate true emergency scenarios.

I was shocked by how vulnerable officers actually are when they respond to armed suspects.

And it chills me now to realize that even with all of his training and practice at survival, Horan lost his life to bullets.

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Visit the News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) at www.news-record.com

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