Suspect released in the killing of Chicago police officer Enrique Martinez, another remains in custody

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Martinez had “courageously protected this city” and called on city residents to pray for his family and embrace the police department.

“This tragic loss cuts deeply; the wound is serious,” Johnson said as he stood next to Snelling. “The only way we can cope with this tragic loss is if we wrap our arms around each other and recognize the value and courage of our police who put their lives on the line for us every day.”

One of the vehicle’s occupants, who remained unidentified, was also shot dead.

The alleged shooter ran from the vehicle after initially trying to drive away, Snelling said. He was taken into custody after a brief chase on foot and through the area, and the backseat passenger was also arrested.

Snelling said officers recovered a handgun belonging to the person who was fatally shot inside the vehicle, along with another handgun with an extended magazine. After the shooting, an officer reported over the police radio that one of the vehicle’s occupants was armed with an “automatic weapon.”

Snelling said an officer also opened fire, although it was unclear who. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is now investigating the shooting, which was captured during frantic police dispatches that were sometimes drowned out by shouts and radio interference.

“We transport one (police officer) to the University of Chicago; he was hit,” an officer said. “Block the streets!”

A false shooting call came minutes earlier

Minutes before the shooting, a woman reported shooting someone who tried to break into her 2017 Kia Soul in the 8200 block of South Ingleside Avenue, two blocks south of where Martinez was shot. An officer later radioed that the shooting was not “bona fide.”

The woman told the Sun-Times that she mistakenly reported a shooting after 911 responders explained that a car burglary did not warrant an immediate police response.

The woman, 50, said officers arrived within minutes of the false shooting report, but Martinez was not among those who responded.

After a brief dispute, when officers realized no one had been shot, the woman saw them running away and suddenly heard screaming and “rapid gunfire.”

“Drop it!” The woman said officers shouted repeatedly.

Late Tuesday morning the block was quiet. Neighbor John Wilson, 62, offered his condolences to Martinez’s family as he reflected on the “wild” shooting.

“I feel sorry for them. He was just doing his job,” said Wilson, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years.

‘Suspect has a criminal history

On Monday evening, uniformed and plainclothes officers gathered at the hospital where Martinez was taken. Some hugged each other; others heard them scream.

Snelling said it is impossible to “know what awaits our officers as they try to protect the public.”

The suspect still in custody is a convicted felon placed on electronic monitoring in Will County. Snelling said the tracking device had been cut off, but noted that police were still investigating.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest last month and he was charged with a misdemeanor, allegedly for trying to foil a drug test, court records show. At the time, the 23-year-old was already facing a charge of cannabis abuse.

Chicago police arrested him on Oct. 11 on the warrant, and he was later turned over to Will County authorities, court records show. After he was released on electronic monitoring in the new case, Will County prosecutors sought to hold him pending trial on the cannabis charges. That case continued on October 28.

He previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for shooting into a vehicle in May 2021, court records show.

While in jail in that case, he faced additional charges stemming from an attack by a group of inmates on another inmate. He pleaded guilty to a battery charge that was reduced from a misdemeanor to a misdemeanor on the same day as his other plea deal.

He was sentenced in the shooting case to four years in prison, including 728 days and mandatory supervised release. In the other case, he only received fines and had to pay court costs, records show.

A spokesman for the Will County district attorney’s office said prosecutors are cooperating with the state’s preliminary investigation and the Chicago police homicide investigation, but declined to comment further.

Snelling said officials must do more to prevent “repeat offenders” from committing crimes.

“We cannot allow people to continue to destroy this city and victimize people with violent crimes, robberies and shootings,” he said. “The trauma they cause to families and to individuals they attack can never be recovered.”

Union boss calls shooting ‘worst case scenario’

John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he has become “almost numb” to the violence faced by Chicago police.

“Unfortunately, it’s part of the landscape,” Catanzara said.

He emphasized that the video purportedly showing the deadly encounter shows that the delicate line officers should walk. In the video, an officer can be heard repeatedly ordering someone to “stop reaching.”

“You’ll be shot,” the officer says before a barrage of gunfire rings out. Catanzara said it’s another example of “how quickly things can go bad.”

“This is the worst-case scenario of what many idiots in this city and across the country believe,” Catanzara said, referring to police officials, politicians and prosecutors, “that apparently an officer should be shot first or shot later. killed before it is appropriate to return fire.”

He accused numerous government officials of “defaming the police” and said they should not bother attending Martinez’s funeral. The list included Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Attorney Kim Foxx, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, COPA staff and anyone who voted in favor of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice legislation.

“The only consideration should be what the family’s wishes are,” he said, noting that Martinez’s relatives are also on the force. “There is no protocol that says the mayor has to be at the funeral, regardless of what this department says and the family tries to urge.

“If the family decides they don’t want certain people there, that should be good enough.”