In the afternoon of Wednesday March 1, 2023, patrol officers were called
to a woman's aid who had complained that she was chased by a man with a
gun. This was Gage Park, a far southwest side neighborhood of Chicago
near Midway Airport. This outlying neighborhood is full of city workers,
including cops and firemen, due to the residency requirement.

Officers from one squad car interviewed the woman at her home. In the
other, they chased the suspect. He turned to fire. There was an exchange
of gunfire. One cop and the suspect were hit; they were taken to
separate hospitals. The officer, 32 years old with 5 years on the job,
later died.

The suspect was 18 years old. The reporter looked up his arrest record:
He was arrested as he was found near two handguns after running from a
stolen automobile. The vehicle had been used in another shooting.

The only charge: misdemeanor resisting arrest. Even that charge was
dropped.

It sure might have been nice if enough evidence had been gathered
against him in that earlier shooting to prosecute him for it.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/3/1/23621256/andres-vasquez-lasso-dead-chicago-police-officer-shooting-murder-gage-park-mount-sinai-cpd

Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>In the afternoon of Wednesday March 1, 2023, patrol officers were called
>to a woman's aid who had complained that she was chased by a man with a
>gun. This was Gage Park, a far southwest side neighborhood of Chicago
>near Midway Airport. This outlying neighborhood is full of city workers,
>including cops and firemen, due to the residency requirement.

>Officers from one squad car interviewed the woman at her home. In the
>other, they chased the suspect. He turned to fire. There was an exchange
>of gunfire. One cop and the suspect were hit; they were taken to
>separate hospitals. The officer, 32 years old with 5 years on the job,
>later died.

>The suspect was 18 years old. The reporter looked up his arrest record:
>He was arrested as he was found near two handguns after running from a
>stolen automobile. The vehicle had been used in another shooting.

>The only charge: misdemeanor resisting arrest. Even that charge was
>dropped.

>It sure might have been nice if enough evidence had been gathered
>against him in that earlier shooting to prosecute him for it.

>https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/3/1/23621256/andres-vasquez-lasso-dead-chicago-police-officer-shooting-murder-gage-park-mount-sinai-cpd

Your tv prosecutor Kim Foxx made a statement. In the prior crime, he was
released with an I-bond (no bail bond) and did alternative prosecution,
so the charge was dropped. No one, not the cops nor the state's
attorney, took that crime seriously enough to fully investigate it so
that appropriate charges might have been preferred. A man was shot. He
could have been involved in that shooting and he could have been
involved in the carjacking.

Perhaps the cop might be alive.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-police-officer-slain-charges-20230302-ikx4ez6mqfdmnc44dfxixhyw4q-story.html