Today, the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation will honor one Chicago Police Sergeant and four Chicago Police Officers for their work to remove a violent gang member off the streets of Chicago.
As we launch a new year of honorees, we are proud to announce that Police Mortgage will be our presenting sponsor of the 2021 Officer of the Month Awards. Police Mortgage is a full-service mortgage banker dedicated to serving the police. We offer conventional, FHA, and VA loan programs which include low money down payment options for homebuyers and mortgage refinances for existing homeowners. We also include at no cost Killed in Line of Duty Debt Protection for any sworn officer.
On Halloween night, 2019, at 5:30 pm, two individuals were shot in the 2600 block of South Lawndale. Upon arrival, police officers discovered a 31-year-old male had been shot in the left hand. He was taken to Mt Sinai Hospital in good condition. The second shooting victim was a 7-year-old girl, who had been trick or treating with her family. She had been shot twice; once in her neck and once on the right side of her chest. She had been wearing a black and red Mickey Mouse costume under her coat. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
Officers Artavious Mitchell, Shawn Bryant, Adam Burns, and Malcolm Brogsdale of the Area Central Gang Enforcement Unit, were assigned to the post-shooting mission related to this incident. This shooting occurred in a known gang conflict area between the Latin Kings and the 2-6 gangs.
During the early stages of this investigation, Sgt Patrick Jaycox developed information in regards to a Facebook video that captured several individuals running from the scene of the shooting. Armed with still photos from the video, the awardees conducted a post-shooting mission in the area.
A short time later, the officers observed three juveniles in the area of the shooting that matched the description of the individuals from the video.
The officers conducted a name check on these juveniles and the results of the check showed that they had been reported as missing persons. These subjects were placed into temporary protective custody and transported to the 010th District. Upon further review of the Facebook video, it was determined that one of these missing persons bore a striking resemblance to one of the subjects running from the scene of the shooting. A still photo captured from the video was shown to this subject and he readily identified himself as the person in the photo. He also identified himself as a member of the 2-6 street gang. Upon further questioning, he related that one of the other juveniles brought into the station was the shooter in this incident and that this shooter had hid the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol he used in an alley under a garbage can near 26th & Ridgeway and agreed to show the officers where the shooter had hidden the weapon. He was transported to the area and officers recovered this firearm.
Additional video footage recovered from a business in the area subsequently showed the offender, wearing a bright red jacket, fleeing on foot southbound in the alley where the firearm was recovered. After the shooting, the offender ran to the house of another 2-6 gang member and gave him his red jacket to hide. A search warrant was executed at this house and recovered from within was the red jacket that the offender had dropped off. It was then learned from the resident of the house that the offender had shown up at his house, out of breath, and stated that he had just shot a Latin King and that he had hidden the gun he had just used in the alley. After learning of this evidence, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged the offender with two counts of Attempt Murder and two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm in a juvenile petition.
Thanks to the outstanding follow-up investigation of these officers, a dangerous and reckless street gang member was arrested and charged with shooting two people. It is an honor to name these officers our January Officers of the Month presented by Police Mortgage.