Skip to main content

Detroit celebrates RoboCop Day, cyborg cop set to throw out first pitch at Tigers game

UPDATED: After reading conflicting reports online regarding the status of this event, we reached out to the Detroit Police Department and confirmed that the statue unveiling festivities that were supposed to happen at 1301 Third St. have been cancelled. This includes the presentation of the actual statue, the presentations, and the photo opps. There’s no word on what the status of the statue is now, or whether the festivities will be rescheduled.

That said, “RoboCop” will still be throwing out the first pitch for tonight’s Tigers home game at Comerica Park.

Recommended Videos

ORIGINAL POST: Three years after an innocent tweet suggested that Detroit should erect a statue of RoboCop, the hero of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film about a police officer who’s transformed into a cyborg, that suggestion is becoming a reality on “RoboCop Day” in the Michigan city.

A 10-foot tall, bronze statue of the character will be unveiled today at the headquarters of the Detroit Police Department, and the event will kick off a full day of RoboCop-themed events, capped off with RoboCop throwing out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers baseball game at Comerica Park. While the statue’s permanent home hasn’t been determined yet, the fact that the statue even exists at all is a triumph of sorts for, well… anyone who thinks a monument to RoboCop statue is a cool idea.

The statue also serves as a testament to the power of social media and crowd-funding site Kickstarter, as the idea for it originated in a 2011 tweet directed at former Mayor Dave Bing suggesting that Detroit follow Philadelphia’s lead with the city’s Rocky Balboa monument and erect a statue honoring its most prominent ambassador in Hollywood, RoboCop. Bing dismissed the idea, but the suggestion caught fire on Twitter and resulted in a Kickstarter campaign by non-profit arts group Imagination Station that raised more than $50,000 to create the statue.

And that statue makes it grand debut at noon today.

Here’s the full itinerary of events provided by local news outlet MLive, which also has some backstage photos of the statue ahead of its official unveiling:

  • 12:00 PM: RoboCop and Detroit Police Department arrivals
  • 12:10 PM: RoboCop presentation and statue announcement
  • 12:30 PM-1:00 p.m: Fan photo opportunities with RoboCop
  • 1:00 PM: RoboCop and Detroit Police Department departure to protect the City of Detroit
  • 7:00 PM: RoboCop throws out the first pitch at Comerica Park

It’s worth noting that, despite today’s release of the recent RoboCop remake on DVD and Blu-ray, the statue is indeed based on the original 1987 film’s version of the character as portrayed by Peter Weller. As it should be.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Erin Brockovich is the movie you need to stream on Peacock this month
A woman and man walk down the street while holding coffee.

The year 2000 was an excellent one for director Steven Soderbergh. He directed not one, but two Best Picture nominees. Plus, Soderbergh took home the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic.

The other movie he made that year is even better than Traffic. Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts at the peak of her powers, follows a single mother of three children who discovers a massive coverup being perpetuated by a major energy company. Here are three reasons you should check it out while it's on Peacock:

Read more
Amazon announces Prime Day 2025 will be July 8-11
Best Prime Day Amazon Deals

Amazon officially announced two major things about Amazon Prime Day 2025 today: the exact dates of the sale and a surprise about its length. Prime Day 2025 will run from July 8 through 11, confirming our suspicions of a mid-July date and surprising us by doubling the usual runtime for the event.

Historically, Prime Day has been two days long. The dates jump around every year, but the length has stayed consistent. Amazon announced the dates with a press release and a commercial featuring Lebron James imagining his post-NBA career.

Read more
Deliver Me from Nowhere trailer: Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen could lead to Oscars
Jeremy Allen White puts his arm in the air and sings into a mic.

Jeremy Allen White grabs his guitar and rocks out as Bruce Springsteen in the official trailer forĀ Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.

Springsteen and the E Street Band were red-hot entering the '80s following a string of successful albums, including Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The River. On the cusp of superstardom, the Boss grappled with his past and the pressures of being a rock star. Deliver Me from Nowhere picks up in the early '80s and chronicles the making of Nebraska, Springsteen's 1982 album that many consider his true masterpiece.

Read more