Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer was honored during a virtual memorial service Saturday, the three-year anniversary of his death.
The 31-year police veteran was shot and killed in 2018 while chasing a four-time felon down a staircase at the Thompson Center.
During Saturday's service, police officers, family members and supporters remembered Bauer for his selflessness, kindness and compassion.
"I often wonder why Paul had to be where he was on Feb. 13, 2018," said Paul Bauer's widow, Erin Bauer. "Why couldn't he have been stopped by a train, making him a minute or two late?... But we have to have faith there is a divine plan that we know nothing about or could never understand. It's the only way to accept what happened."
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said while it has been three years, she remembers the shock just like it was yesterday.
"Time stood still for a whole city, and we were united in shock, our horror and then our grief," Lightfoot said.
The man who shot Bauer was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
