The officer who died was the first Chicago cop shot and killed in the line of duty this year, Brown said. It’s the first line-of-duty shooting death since Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office in 2019. Four other Chicago cops who died of COVID-19 were also considered by the police department to have died in the line of duty, according to the Chicago Tribune.
None of the three people in the car had been charged, but Brown said the alleged shooter had a previous “criminal background for robbery” dating back to 2019.
Lightfoot declared Sunday to be “an official day of mourning for our city,” and said all city buildings fly their flags at half staff. She asked private buildings to do the same. “Tragedy has struck again,” she said.
“There are some who say that we do not do enough for the police, and that we are handcuffing them from doing their jobs.” Lightfoot said. “There are others who say we do too much for the police, and that we never hold them accountable for what they do, particularly in Black and Brown neighborhoods. All of this, I say, stop. Just stop. This constant strife is not what we need in this moment,” Lightfoot said.