Page 55 - July2021

18th District lifesavers earn CPMF Officer of the Month Award
n BY DAN CAMPANA
A combination of quick actions by five 18th District offi- cers in March to not only save a man’s life, but also quickly catch his suspected attacker, garnered the quintet Officer of the Month hon- ors from the Chica- go Police Memorial Foundation in June.
Officers Maurizio
Cazares, Arman-
do Garza, Mario
Sanchez and Anto-
nio Perez received
CPMF’s award in connection to the March broad-daylight stabbing on Michigan Avenue. CPMF also recognized Offi- cer Israel Martinez, who died suddenly within two weeks of helping the stabbing victim.
According to officials, Martinez, Cazares and Garza were dispatched on March 28 to a report of a person stabbed in the 700 block of North Michigan Avenue. They arrived to find a 52-year-old Michigan man on the ground with a stab wound to the throat. The man had been attacked with a knife, which struck him between his trachea and carotid artery.
The officers provided emergency medical care to the man, stabilizing him until medics could take him to North- western Hospital, where the man underwent immediate surgery for his life-threatening injuries.
While Martinez, Cazares and Garza tended to the victim, Sanchez and Perez were alerted by a witness to a possible suspect running south on Michigan Avenue from the scene. The pair followed the suspect and detained him on East Su- perior. Witnesses identified the man as the offender in the attack.
A subsequent investigation revealed the suspect had approached the victim and his son, showed a pocketknife and demanded money. When the man refused to give any money, the suspect threatened to kill the Michigan man in “broad daylight” and then used the knife to stab the man, officials said at the awards ceremony.
The suspect was charged with attempted murder and ag- gravated battery. He is being held without bond awaiting trial.
“Thanks to the quick response and actions of these awardees, the victim survived this vicious attack, and the offender was quickly apprehended. Congratulations on a
job well done. The Chicago Police Me- morial Foundation is honored to name these officers our June Officers of the Month,” CPMF Ex- ecutive Director Phil Cline said.
Cline also ac- knowledged Mar- tinez’s unexpected death shortly after this incident, noting that Martinez served for eight years in the Illinois National
Guard, including a deployment to Kuwait, prior to joining CPD. Cline presented Martinez’s award to his family mem- bers.
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