A Chicago police officer was shot and killed during an altercation outside a police building on the South Side, officials said.
The suspect was shot and wounded by another officer, and taken into custody, sources said. The suspect was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Officials could not provide a condition for the suspect, but an official said he was stable.
The officer was shot at about 3:50 p.m. at a police facility used to house special units, according to preliminary reports. The officer apparently was shot in the head.
The officer was working a special detail dedicated to addressing youth violence. He was typically an instructor at the training academy, but was operating out of 61st and Racine as part of Operation Protect Youth.
He was married but had no children, according to a close friend, Mazen Istanbouli, a DePaul professor. “I want people to know that he’s a great man and gave the Chicago Police a great name. He was a giver, he never thought of himself and always thought of others.”
The two had known each other for about three or four years after the avid runners were introduced by a trainer. Istanbouli, who is blind, said the officer accompanied him to the New York City and Chicago triathalons, running and biking and swimming alongside him and serving as Istanbouli’s guide.
The two most recently ran together at a run for fallen police officers in Chicago this spring. Just today, he said, he brought up the officer’s name because he wanted the officer to accompany him at a bicycle race.
“Oh my God, this is very disturbing news,” said Istanbouli.
Istanbouli recalls that when the two men ran the races the man chided him when Istanbouli tried to thank him.
“I said this is a great thing…He said I’m doing this for you not for me, I don’t need the medal, I’m doing it for you,” Istanbouli recalled. “He helped me out with training and he helped me out throughout the process with swimming and running and biking, the whole thing we did everything.”
He said his friend is always in his mind when he hears about police tragedies because “police officers’ lives are always out there. It’s just shocking.”
Colleagues described the officer as an ideal, conscientious cop. “A really committed police officer,” one source said.
Police officers and family gathered outside the slain officer’s home on the South Side this evening. Police guarding the door to the family’s home said relatives would have no comment.
The officer’s body has been transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where an autopsy on it is scheduled to be performed Thursday. An office spokesman would not provide any other details of the officer.
A group of uniformed and plain-clothed officers stood outside the entrance of the Advocate Christ hospital emergency room. One officer who did not give his name or comment on why he was at the hospital.
“It’s really bad,” was all the officer said.
The Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates shootings involving Chicago police officers, were gathering evidence on the scene this evening, said IPRA spokesman Mark Smith.
— Annie Sweeney, Jeremy Gorner and Carlos Sadovi
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/police-involved-shooting-on-south-side-2.html