By Joanna Putman
Police1
CHICAGO — Two Chicago PD detectives were recognized with a Valor Award for their work in the case of fallen officer Aréanah Preston, CBS News Chicago reported.
Preston was killed in May while she was coming home from work. She had left her car and was walking toward her home when four teenage suspects allegedly shot and killed her. They had just finished a string of robberies intended to fund a friend’s barbeque party, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Valor Awards are meant to honor sacrifices made by the families of fallen officers. This year’s ceremony honored the families of Officers Preston and Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso, who was killed in a shooting in March.
Detectives William Hronopoulos and James McNicholas were given the Distinguished Service Award for their round-the-clock work in finding evidence to arrest the suspects in Preston’s case, according to the report.
“Did we all want to go to the funeral and pay our respects? Absolutely,” said McNicholas. “But if we do that, then we might miss something.”
“I’m happy that my wife is there with me,” said Hronopoulos. “We didn’t see our families a lot during that time, and as much as we sacrificed, our family put a lot of sacrifice too.”