On Tuesday, September 8th, the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation will honor 6 Chicago Police Officers for their bravery.
On July 30, at 9:00am officers from the 025 District responded to a call of a stolen Porsche parked on North Avenue. Upon arrival, they found a Porsche, which was unoccupied. It was determined that this Porsche had been taken during an earlier carjacking.
As the officers were on scene completing paperwork, the offender entered the Porsche and tried to drive away.
The offender wrestled with the officers as they attempted to place him under arrest. Once he was handcuffed, he was searched, and a squadrol was requested to transport him to the 025 District. A CPD SUV with a cage in the rear seat arrived, driven by Officer Jason Cloherty, and subsequently transported the offender to 025 District.
While en route to the 025 District, the offender was able to move his hands to the front of his body. Once he succeeded in moving his hands to the front, he was able to extricate a Glock 9mm that was hidden in his groin.
Once the SUV arrived at the 025 District sally port, Officer Cloherty opened the back door of the SUV and the offender immediately opened fire with the pistol, striking Officer Cloherty.
Upon hearing the gunshots and radio calls for assistance, officers immediately responded from the district station as well as in their patrol vehicles. This is an excellent example of how Chicago Police Officers run towards gunshots and danger. After a gun battle between officers and the offender, it resulted in Officer James Rowe being shot in the hip and Officer James Kurth being shot in his ballistic vest. Officer Kurth had just received his new vest from the Get Behind the Vest Program sponsored by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. This was the first day he had worn it.
The three wounded officers were transported to local hospitals. The offender was shot multiple times and was immediately transported to Stroger Hospital for treatment to his injuries. The offender was charged with six counts of Attempted Murder. He is in custody and awaiting trial.
We are proud to honor these 6 officers with our September Officer of the Month Award – Officer Jason Cloherty, Officer James Kurth, Officer James Rowe, Officer Michael O’Grady, Officer Timothy Vasiladis, Officer Veronica Negron.