'Why pick on us, the people who protected their city?'

Retired police officer Gordon MacDonald, 87, and his wife Erma, 82, have been describing their fears that his pension, earned over 39 years with the Detroit force, may be a casualty of the city's bankruptcy filing.

Detroit owes up to $20bn with $9bn due to its ballooning pension and healthcare costs.

The city's emergency manager Kevin Orr has argued bankruptcy would bring a fresh financial start.

Gordon told the BBC, "We've been getting by - if they take my pension away, then we'll be in bad shape."