Page 46 - May 2017 Newsletter

‘This dude had to be stopped’
How an off-duty officer apprehended a killer
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
When he heard the shots, Chicago Police Officer Car- michael Lewis followed the protocol he used to advo- cate as a field training officer. Be observant, he would tell new officers. On or off duty.
Officer Lewis was off duty, driving on the northbound Chinatown exit ramp from the Dan Ryan Expressway into work shortly after 5 p.m. on April 10, when the sound of seven gunshots put his head on a swivel. Check left. Check right. Check the rearview mirror. Wait, there it is: A reflection in the driver’s side mirror of a car crash- ing into a guard rail and a man with a gun reaching into the vehicle.
What transpired during the next 10 or 11 minutes exemplified why Lewis wanted to join the Chicago Po- lice Department ever since he was a kid growing up in a gang-ridden area of the city and work with “the best of the best.” He quickly made a 911 call, provided a de- tailed report to Department dispatch and then to the Illinois State Police dispatch, tailed the shooter when he fled the scene, chased him down an alley, jumped a fence in pursuit, broke a bone in his hand, jumped back over the fence and apprehended the shooter. All without even pulling his gun.
“My job is to protect the people who can’t be protect- ed,” Officer Lewis asserted. “I’m tired of these people do- ing these reckless things. This dude had to be stopped before he got to another victim. I thank God I was able to see it and get that criminal off the street.”
Lewis appeared destined to be in the right place at the right time. He said growing up in Morgan Park–where guns, gangs and violence were part of the daily routine– was the motivation to become a Chicago Police Officer. At 21 years old, when he had just completed his college degree, he began the process of joining to the Depart- ment.
Despite clearing the background check, his applica- tion was held up, so Lewis went out to the suburbs to begin learning the ropes. He spent four-and-a-half years in the south suburbs, first with the Phoenix Police De- partment and then three years with Calumet Park.
Because Cal Park borders the city, Lewis repeatedly worked hand-in-hand with CPD officers on calls. That’s when he felt a higher calling summoning.
“We were always taught the CPD is the elite, one of the top two or three police departments in the nation,” Lew- is explained. “I just needed to follow my dream.”
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During his nearly five years with the Department, Lew- is has made his way to Saturation Central, a unit located in the center of Chicago that gets detailed each day to areas of high crime. The assignment to battle gangs of all origins and respond to practically every type of incident that occurs within the city provided the job Lewis always wanted.
“As cliché as this sounds, I want to be someone who can make a change, who can make people feel like the police are the good guys,” he shared. “I want to help the city of Chicago get these criminals and protect the peo- ple who need to be protected. If we can get at least one criminal a day, it will all add up.”
One criminal was the focus for Lewis, the motiva- tion to do more than just call in the incident on April 10. Training immediately triggered when Lewis saw the shooter, 20-year-old Jeremiah Holt of Englewood, in his