Page 55 - March 2018 FOP Newsletter

Off-duty responses earn officer of the month awards
n BY DAN CAMPANA
Four of CPD’s finest each earned recognition as officers of the month from the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation in Feb- ruary. In two of the incidents, officers were off duty when con- fronted by armed suspects looking to commit a robbery or steal their personal vehicle.
On Dec. 1, Officer John Pellegrini had just parked inside his garage outside his home in the Beverly neighborhood when he saw a suspect approach him. The suspect demanded money and pointed a handgun at Pellegrini, a 27-year veteran assigned to the Area South Detective Bureau. After Pellegrini said the sus- pect could take anything he wanted, the suspect racked the slide of his gun.
With family nearby and fearing for his life, Pellegrini drew his gun and fired at the suspect. The juvenile offender stum- bled and dropped his gun but managed to get away. Pellegrini called in the robbery and offered a description of the suspect, who was later captured after an investigation by Chicago Police detectives and Evergreen Park Police turned up witnesses and evidence to link the offender to numerous other armed violence cases in the Beverly area.
Weeks later, just before Christmas, Officer Corry Williams was sitting in his car a few blocks from police headquarters when his vehicle was approached by two suspects. While one attempted to distract Williams, the second suspect brandished a gun and opened the car door.
Williams, who has been on the job for 18 years, fired his weap- on to wound one suspect. An investigation revealed that the 18-year-old had an extensive criminal record. He was charged with attempted vehicular hijacking with a firearm, attempted robbery and aggravated assault. The second suspect was able to escape the scene.
CPMF also bestowed the monthly award on Area Central Bureau Detectives Robert Smith and Matthew McDonough for capturing several suspects allegedly involved in dozens of armed violence cases that included robberies and carjackings.
In October and November 2017, nearly 40 armed robberies were reported in the West Town and Ukrainian Village areas. The veteran detectives, who have a combined 37 years of experience, identified a pattern among the incidents. That information, combined with their knowledge of various gangs and robbery crews in the area, led the pair to focus on one group in particu- lar. Numerous victims even identified potential suspects to the detectives.
One day during the investigation, the pair picked up on radio the call of a carjacking that occurred near Chicago Avenue and Racine Street. The suspects led police on a chase on the Eisen- hower Expressway into Oak Park, where they crashed the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. Officers from Chicago and Oak Park captured two suspects and recovered a semi-automatic handgun with an extended clip — a weapon similar to one used in multiple robberies.
The detectives identified additional offenders, and four sus- pects were charged in seven aggravated vehicular hijackings and armed robberies. Officials believe that another 15 cases will be cleared by these arrests, and yet another 12 to 15 cases are waiting the processing of evidence which might lead to more charges.
“These incidents illustrate not only our Police Officers’ profes- sionalism, dedication and heroism, but further show that even off duty, they hold to their oaths and uphold the expectations of their vocations,” Area Central Deputy Chief Kevin Ryan said. “They refuse to allow criminals to prey on our communities.”d
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2018 55
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