TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) - Taylor police along with friends of the Edwards family fanned out on Telegraph Saturday to collect donations for fallen officer Matthew Edwards. The 31 year-old Corporal was gunned down Friday morning at a Taylor apartment complex as he confronted a man trying to break into an apartment.
The fundraiser took place near the intersection of Van Born and Telegraph. Volunteers stood out in traffic to collect money to support Edwards’ widow and two children.
One of those who came out to help was Tia Ma, a friend of the Edwards family. She says helping the family in this time of need makes her feel like she’s making a difference. Ma tells Action News Edwards’ wife is staying strong, despite the horrible loss.
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Edwards Responding to What Seemed Like A Routine Call
Edwards and his partner arrived at the Coppertree apartments at around 5:30 Friday morning after someone reported seeing a man trying to break into an apartment. Officer Edwards confronted the suspect and he opened fire, hitting Edwards.
Edwards' partner fired back as he chased the suspect. Neighbors say they heard 15 to 20 shots. A gun, gloves, wad of cash and a cigarette lighter were found on the driveway near the shooting.
Both Edwards and the suspect were taken the hospital. Edwards was pronounced dead.
The supect has been identified as 36-year-old Tyress Mathews from Westland. He is being treated in the hospital. Police say his wife lives in the apartment complex, but that it is not known why he would try to break into a unit there.
This is the first Taylor officer killed in the line duty in the history of the department.
The incident is still under investigation. Police say the home invasion may have actually been a domestic situation.
Corporal Edwards has been on the Taylor police force for five years. He was honored as officer of the year by Michigan's Police Officer's Association in 2008.
The public can make donations to the “Cpl. Matthew Edwards Memorial
Fund” at any branch of PNC Bank.
City of Taylor, within Wayne County, Michigan 
A Michigan police officer was shot and killed yesterday in an early-morning exchange of gunfire. Corporal Matthew Edwards, 31, of the Taylor Police Department, was responding to a call about a  of a home in an apartment complex on Pine Street near Telegraph and Northline Roads, in , Michigan.

After arriving at the scene, the Taylor Police Department say that two of their officers observed a man trying to enter an apartment through a window.  While his partner walked towards the building, Edwards approached the suspect and began speaking to him.  The suspect pulled out a gun and shot at the officer.  Edwards and his partner then opened fire on the suspect, who police say is 36-year-old Tyress Matthews from , which resulted in a volley of bullets being exchanged.  Residents told investigators that they heard between 15 and 20 gun shots in the shootout, and saw Edwards lying on the ground near his vehicle and screaming for help for about five minutes. 

Edwards and Matthews were taken to Oakwood Hospital in , where Edwards was pronounced dead. Matthews underwent surgery, and is reported to have non-life threatening injuries.  The second officer was not injured in the incident.  The  and officers from the nearby cities of  and  are assisting the Taylor PD in investigating the incident. Taylor police Commander Dan Crowell said while the initial report was of a break-in, it was more likely a domestic disturbance. Matthews has "quite a lengthy criminal history".

Residents of the apartment complex say that crime and gunfire is a common occurrence there. "I heard the shots. There were a lot of them," Teresa Webster told the ''''. "They woke me up. But I didn't think much of them because we hear so many gunshots around here. There was a stabbing here about a month ago. And three days ago, I found a body in a car in the parking lot. We thought (a teenaged male in the front seat) was passed out, but he was dead." Another resident, Arthur White, told the Associated Press that drug use and teenage delinquency is common in the complex, while Deborah Brown has decided that the incident today has convinced her to move out, following an increase of criminal behavior in recent weeks.

Matthew Edwards, a five-year veteran of the Taylor Police Department, is survived by his wife Shannon and two children, Luke, 8, and Moriah, 6. Before returning to his hometown of Taylor in January 2005, Edwards was with the . He is the first Taylor police officer to be killed in the line of duty since it formed in the 1930s. In 2008, Edwards was named Officer of the Year by the Police Officers Association of Michigan for shooting a drunken knife-wielding man who was attempting to .