‘Far too frequent’: At wake for slain CPD Officer Enrique Martinez, peers decry killing

Hundreds of mourners lined up outside an Oak Lawn funeral home Sunday to pay their respects to fallen Chicago police Officer Enrique Martínez, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month.

As the sun set and its last rays pierced the clouds, and temperatures dropped in the early evening, the trickle of people heading into the wake remained constant.

Close to the main entrance of the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, some crouched to pet and hug a therapy dog — a St. Bernard — also in attendance as part of the Chicago Police Department's employee assistance program, which provides mental health support. Throughout the afternoon, volunteers with the Salvation Army approached people in line to offer them hot cocoa and bottled water during their wait.

Martínez, a 26-year-old who had been in the force less than three years, was fatally shot on Nov. 4 while he conducted a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood on the city's South Side. Darion C. McMillian, 23, of Harvey, has been charged with first-degree murder of an officer and first-degree murder, among other felonies, and will remain detained until trial.

In front of the funeral home, three trees had lost their leaves since the last time police officers, loved ones and civilian supporters lined up outside: Only seven months ago, Officer Luis Huesca was mourned there after being shot and killed while returning home from work earlier this year.

"People have asked me: Why do we keep coming back here? Why are we back here, doing the same thing, over and over again?" former Chicago police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told reporters Sunday.

He said the city has been suffering from a full-blown disease: "This cancer that I talk about is a blatant disrespect for the institutions that have made this city, this county, this state and this country great."

"We need to make our streets safe for everybody," Roy added. "When it's not safe for police officers — whether it's an on-duty officer in full uniform or an officer going to call at the end of his shift — it says a lot about Chicago."

After comforting the family inside, Dave Gier prepared to leave on his motorcycle.

"We don't know them, but we owe them," said Gier, senior ride captain in the Northeast Illinois region of the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders, whose volunteer members attend first responder memorial services. He wore a leather vest with patches and pins commemorating every funeral and wake he has attended since 2008.

He tapped a set of short black and blue elastics with four-digit badge numbers that he had affixed to his vest — mourning bands for CPD officers. The ones toward the top were faded. At the bottom was one of the many being handed out to officers Sunday afternoon. On it was etched Martínez's badge number: 8314.

The hardest part every time, he said, is noticing that the parents of slain police officers are only getting younger.

"It's never easy, but it's always an honor," Gier said. "And we will honor them in any way we can."

After 30-year-old Huesca, Martínez marks the second and latest police officer to be killed this year. Last year in May, Officer Aréanah Preston, 25, was also fatally shot and killed as she returned from a late-night shift. A month earlier, 32-year-old Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso was killed in the line of duty .

Martínez's killing has shined a spotlight on political tensions and public safety issues. On Saturday, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he would not be attending the funeral after the officer's family requested he stay away; a similar situation unfolded when Officer Huesca's relatives asked Johnson not to attend his memorial services .

The progressive mayor has faced criticism over law enforcement issues and frequently butted heads with John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7.

"These days and these speeches are becoming far too frequent, to say the least," Catanzara told reporters Sunday. "They can talk all they want about lowering crime stats, but I don't think there's a single soul in Chicago that feels any more safe now."

After an apparent jab at Jonhson, he swiftly changed the topic.

"I really would prefer not to talk too much about the drama that led up to this day," he said, "because this is about Enrique, his family and his brothers and sisters in blue, specifically. I just want to highlight his service to this city. Yet another young officer lost far too soon who was trying to do right by this city and his citizens."

Martínez's family also reportedly asked Gov. JB Pritzker not to show up to any services. Outside the funeral home, Roy called on Pritzker to rethink the effectiveness of Illinois' historic, sweeping bail reform law that took effect last year, citing prosecutors who have said the alleged shooter had been wearing a court-sanctioned ankle monitor tied to pending drug charges, which he removed shortly after the traffic stop when he shot Martínez.

Some critics say electronic monitoring allows violent criminals to return to their communities, while others say it's an oversimplification to claim the measure is driving gun violence in Chicago.

"I hope that the governor will take some time this week to reflect on this tragedy ... and say: 'The Safe-T Act was well-intentioned, but it's not working out. Let's fix it,'" Roy said.