Page 56 - APRIL 2019 FOP MAGAZINE

C hoors officers who resoded o erc osia shooig
■ BY DAN CAMPANA
Nov. 19, 2018, will forever be known as a sad day for the Chi- cago Police Department.
That’s the day that Officer Samuel Jimenez ran toward dan- ger and lost his life saving others when a man opened fire at Mercy Hospital. In March, the Chicago Police Memorial Foun- dation paid tribute to three others who also faced the dangers associated with a violent domestic dispute that quickly turned into an active-shooter response.
CPMF honored Lieutenant Jacob Alderden and Officers Elvis Turcinovic and Bernardo Quijano with the organization’s Offi- cer of the Month award. CPMF officials noted the three were chosen as a representation of the many officers who didn’t think twice but instead acted swiftly when the shooting started.
“Every one of those officers both inside and outside the hos- pital acted with courage and bravery and wore their badges proudly,” said CPMF President Arthur Hannus. “Without ques- tion, had it not been for the immediate response of all of the officers, the offender who was armed with multiple magazines could have taken more lives.”
The tragic events — which left Dr. Tamara O’Neal, pharmacy resident Dayna Less and Jimenez dead — began with a domes- tic incident involving O’Neal and a man with whom she had a relationship. A call went out about a shooter at Mercy, and scores of officers responded immediately.
The first officers to reach the scene found O’Neal wounded
outside in a parking lot and moved their vehicles to shield her, but she still remained in potential danger. That’s when Quijano and a few other officers ran to O’Neal and tried to pull her to safety. The gunman fired upon the officers as they did so, and a bullet went through Quijano’s holster and lodged in his gun. The officers were then able to move O’Neal out of the line of fire.
Alderden arrived and went straight into the hospital. He and Jimenez found the shooter and pursued the man, who had al- ready gunned down O’Neal outside the facility. As the SWAT unit responded, Turcinovic teamed with Alderden and Jimenez in the pursuit. They briefly lost sight of the assailant around a corner, and as they continued to run toward the gunman last seen running down a long hallway, he reappeared and fired several rounds at the trio of officers — including the fatal shot which hit Jimenez.
56 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2019