‘A man of honor, a beacon of kindness’

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Chicago weeps for Officer Luis Huesca

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By Tim Hadac

People across the Southwest Side shed tears earlier this week, as throngs of police officers and other filled the St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 77^th and Western for a funeral Mass for CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca.

CPD Officer Luis M. Huesca. –Supplied photo

Officer Huesca was “a man of honor…a pillar of strength, a beacon of kindness,” his CPD partner, Officer Christian Calderón, said from the chapel pulpit at Monday’s service. Losing him “is like a nightmare…he was my best friend, mi compadre. He’s my son’s godfather…we were brothers, inseparable in duty and in life.”

Officer Huesca was shot to death on the street in the 3100 block of West 56^th Street at 2:53 a.m. Sunday, April 21.

He had just gotten off his shift in the Calumet (5^th) District on the South Side and was apparently exiting his vehicle to go to his home nearby.

He was wearing his CPD uniform, with a jacket over it.

CPD officers carry Officer Huesca’s casket out of the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn. –Supplied photo

Police were alerted to the crime by a ShotSpotter alert, five minutes before the first 911 call came in. Officer Huesca was found in the street, shot multiple times, steps from his home. His gun and vehicle were missing.

He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He died two days before his 31^st birthday. He was a six-year member of the force.

Officer Huesca’s funeral Mass was live-streamed on social media by the Chicago Police Department, so that hundreds of thousands of people (if not more) around the world might see and hear the service.

Reaction is swift

Southwest Siders watching online were quick to react.

“This is such a sad, sad day for Chicago,” Guadalupe Hernandez said. “This nice young man, this honorable public servant, this protector of the people…gone so far too soon. I’m in tears.”

Marikay Kozlowska worried about what effect Officer Huesca’s slaying might have on other police officers.

A Chicago Police officer stands next to Officer Huesca’s casket, cap, gloves and baton at the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn on Sunday. –Supplied photo

“We ask so much of them, and there’s so much pressure on them as it is,” she said. “Police already know they’re targets. I worry that this murder may make the pressure that much worse. I pray for our police every day.”

Diego Aguilera also expressed sadness, but it was “mixed with anger. Carjacking has been a big problem in Chicago for several years now…and police seem to be doing what they can to stop it, but if prosecutors and judges don’t do their part—and they’re not–then it’s all for nothing. The message needs to be clear to these punks who carjack: you will be caught and you will be punished severely.”

Notably absent from Monday’s funeral Mass were Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson. According to published reports, the Huesca family asked Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and State Rep. Angelica “Angie” Guerrero-Cuellar (D-22^nd) to reach out to Pritzker and Johnson to request that they stay away from the Mass.

Alluding to the family’s request was a statement from the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7.

“Today we laid a hero to rest,” the statement read. “He was killed for a car and his career. Those are both directly tied to deadly policies of ‘catch and release’ within our own city. These policies have been supported by far too many politicians. It resulted in the family expressing their wishes that politicians who helped make policies that contributed to Luis’ death, not be welcomed to his services. Because it’s not a message the department wanted to deliver, it was left to Lodge 7. We will always stand up for the wishes of our gold star families. There is not another voice that is more important in these moments. We cannot say, Never Forget in one breath while avoiding the family’s wishes in the next.”

Guerrero-Cuellar, the wife of a police officer, offered no public comment on the family’s request, but called Officer Huesca “a hero who went above and beyond to protect the city and its residents. I send [the family] my sincere condolences and we appreciate your son’s efforts to make a difference. We will never forget him.”

Hunt for killer continues

As police continued to pursue those responsible for the slaying of Officer Huesca, rewards totaling $100,000 were offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Xavier L. Tate Jr. (principal suspect in the case).

Tate

Cook County Crime Stoppers and the federal ATF are offering a combined $25,000 for information leading to an arrest. The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, the FBI and the Fraternal Order of Police are offering a combined $75,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Those with useful information to share are encouraged to submit an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP (7867) or via CPDTip.com.