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By Azam Ahmed
The Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — The widow of Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis and two stepdaughters strode arm-in-arm as an honor guard led them through a cortege of uniformed officers.
A solemn-faced crowd filled the police headquarters lobby as Francis’ star was retired Tuesday in a somber ceremony made more poignant by the slaying of yet another officer over the weekend.
Francis, a 27-year veteran gunned down in July, is the 462nd Chicago police officer to be honored on the wall of fallen heroes.
“Officer Francis gave his life serving and protecting the life of our city,” Mayor Richard Daley said. “Whenever a police officer dies in the line of duty, we all share the pain.”
A pall hung in the air, one sharpened by the loss of Officer Nathaniel Taylor Jr., a 14-year veteran killed in the line of duty Sunday. Purple and black bunting was draped over two entrances to police headquarters.
“Another good cop has been abruptly taken from us,” said Police Supt. Jody Weis. “Both have made the ultimate sacrifice, and both will be remembered as outstanding police officers.”
Weis lifted his right arm and saluted as Francis’ star was placed in the Superintendent’s Honored Star Case.
For Francis’ ceremony to come so soon after Taylor’s death was a sad coincidence -- his rite had been planned for weeks -- and a grim reminder of the dangers faced by police every day.
Francis was on patrol alone when he was shot and killed in a struggle with a woman who had caused a disturbance near the Belmont District station, police have said.
Taylor was serving a search warrant in the 7900 block of South Clyde Avenue when a suspect opened fire, killing the narcotics officer.
After Tuesday’s ceremony, several officers lingered and some even shared a few jokes. Still, the mood was downcast.
Rev. Thomas Nangle, Police Department chaplain, told a reporter that he notices a discouraged spirit among many officers. The old-timers, he said, are reminded of the 1970s when violence and public distrust of the police were both on the rise.
That can tough for a police officer to deal with on a normal day, he said, but in the wake of the two recent police killings, it can become overwhelming.
“The city literally can’t exist for 24 hours without police,” Nangle said. “And yet we disrespect them.”
Copyright 2008 The Chicago Tribune