Fallen Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez, who was gunned down during a traffic stop earlier this month, was laid on Monday at a funeral with dozens of first responders in attendance. NBC Chicago’s Patrick Fazio reports.
Fallen Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez, who was gunned down during a traffic stop earlier this month, was laid on Monday at a funeral with dozens of first responders in attendance.
The funeral service comes one day after family and friends lined the sidewalk outside Blake Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn to pay their respects to Martinez at his visitation Sunday.
Martinez, 26-year-old, was recently engaged to be married. He was just shy of his third year on with the department when he was fatally shot Nov. 4. while conducting traffic stop near Ingleside Avenue and East 82nd Street. He is the fifth Chicago Police officer to be killed by gunfire in three years.
Martinez served on the force alongside his older brother.
"He was my baby brother, the most amazing person in the world to me," said Officer Adrian Martinez Jr. "We wanted to live the life of a hero. Becoming police officers was not just a job title to us, but who we were supposed to be.”
The 26-year-old was like a brother to fellow officers.
"He left us with memories of laughter, love, and loyalty," said Officer Abdullah Saleh. "I’ll miss my partner, my friend, and my brother. But I'll also carry on with me the lessons he taught me – to cherish those around us, to never take ourselves too seriously and to always have each other’s backs.”
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In a change of course, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Saturday he won't attend Martinez's funeral, adhering to a request from the fallen officer's family. The mayor previously indicated he would attend. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he won't attend at the family's wishes.
The man accused of fatally shooting Martinez, was on electronic monitoring at the time of the incident and was previously convicted of a felony, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said.
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Darian McMillian, 23, was facing several charges in the shooting, including two counts of murder, felony attempted murder, possession of a machine gun and burglary charges, officials said.
"This offender is a convicted felon who was on electronic monitoring out of Will County," Snelling said earlier this month during a press conference announcing the charges. "Needless to say, this individual should not have been on our streets with a fully automatic weapon, a weapon used to kill Officer Martinez."
Court records revealed McMillian, who was in the front passenger seat during the traffic stop, had a weapon with a fully automatic switch to rapidly fire. After striking and killing Martinez, along with the driver of the vehicle, Martinez attempted to flee the scene, running into a nearby apartment and cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet. He was taken into custody a short time later.
"Yet another young officer lost far too soon, who was trying to right by this city and it’s citizens," said Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.
