Detroit Police Car Hood

File photo, Gus Burns

DETROIT -- Police were threatened with a beer bottle, knife and physical violence while responding to a noise complaint at an abandoned house Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief James Craig said Thursday.

In what they felt was a potentially deadly situation, the officers were able to defuse the situation and arrest three men without serious injury after one officer fired a warning shot into the ground, according to Craig.

This is the second time Detroit police have had their lives threatened this week, the chief said.

The first occurred about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, when an unknown shooter with an "assault-style" rifle opened fire on a Detroit patrol vehicle with two officers inside, Craig said.

Ten bullets were fired. Three struck the vehicle. No one was injured, police said.

The police were investigating a potentially illegal dice game underway when they heard shots fired in the area. As they sought the source of the gunfire, they became the target, Craig said.

The latest incident occurred about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday on the 19300 block of Grandville on Detroit's northwest side.

Craig said he personally received a complaint about the address in his office, "some time ago," and officers have been "conducting regular followups" ever since.

A citizen complained of loud noise, alcohol and drug activity at an abandoned home in the neighborhood.

Police visited the house in response to a noise complaint, and Craig said multiple people were on the porch and one became "very hostile and aggressive" as officers approached and asked the music be turned down.

"In fact, one individual was armed with a bottle, raised the bottle over his head to strike the officer -- a beer bottle," Craig said. " ... As this was unfolding, neighbors from a house adjacent to the vacant (house) came to join in on this melee in the attack on the officers.

"An individual began to try and choke an officer and then a third individual raised up his shirt exposing what appeared to be ... probably a knife."

Chief James E. Craig Press Conference Posted by Detroit Police Department on Thursday, August 25, 2016

One officer, "fearing for his life and that of his partner," Craig said, fired a warning shot into the dirt, de-escalating the situation.

Backup arrived. Craig said one of the men is charged with disorderly conduct. He did not reveal charges sought against two other men but said three in total were arrested.

Witness Richard Boyd, a friend of one of the suspects, told WJBK-TV, Fox 2 News a contradictory story. He says Detroit police initiated the violence.

"The one police officer grabbed (my friend) by the face, then he defended himself," Boyd told Fox 2.

"His brother jumped up -- I don't know if he started to tussle with the cop or not -- but his brother jumped up, they got to tussling. The one police, the one guy, the initial guy that got grabbed on the ground, they were punching him in the face."

Craig said, based on the circumstances he's aware of, the officers could have used deadly force, but "this officer in a split-second decision decided not to use deadly force, but opted to fire a warning shot."

Warning shots are "not something we recommend," Craig added.

The department is conducting a use-of-force investigation, as it does in all situations involving police gunfire.

Craig said most Detroit citizens "respect and want to work" with police, and that the suspects in this case are an exception.

"We have a small number who want to attack police officers," Craig said. "It's my belief the community will rise up and say, 'Enough, we are not going to have our officers attacked.'"

Craig blames social media rhetoric and media reports, in part, for some of the recent aggression against law enforcement.

The media "tend to drive a narrative that is not always healthy," he said. "I mean, balance is always important."

In this case, Craig said the attack might be linked to a 2011 incident in which a gunman opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct, shooting four officers. The gunman, 38-year-old Lamar Moore, was killed when police returned fire.

"During this incident, a suspect indicated that was his brother and he was angry over the fact that Detroit police officers killed his bother," Craig said. "Now whether or not that is true, it was stated at the incident."