Chicago police announced charges in the murder of Chicago police officer Enrique Martinez, who was shot and killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop earlier this week.
Darian McMillian, 23, has been charged with one count of felony first-degree murder of a police officer and one count of felony first-degree murder in addition to several other charges, including one count of felony residential burglary and one felony count of attempted murder of a police officer.
McMillian was on electronic monitoring and had been convicted of a felony previously.
"This offender is a convicted felon who was on electronic monitoring out of Will County. Needless to say, this individual should not have been on our streets with a fully automatic weapon, a weapon used to kill Officer Martinez," CPD Supt. Larry Snelling said.
Snelling expressed anger at Martinez's killing, referencing the line of duty killings of other Chicago police officers in the last few years.
"Anger doesn't describe the feeling that I feel right now when we think about the loss of this officer who was out trying to protect the city. I think of all of the losses that we've had over this time over this past few years. We've suffered the deaths through these violent experiences of Officer Luis Huesca, Officer Areanah Preston, Officer Vasquez Lasso and Officer Ella French," Snelling said.
Snelling called for more focus on repeat offenders and violent crimes in wake of the charges against McMillian.
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"We have to channel that anger into energy that's going to keep our city safe by focusing on the violent crimes and the violent acts that are being committed throughout our city. To focus on those repeat offenders who continue to offend and continue to terrorize our city and our communities. In his final moments, he protected our city," Snelling said.
Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti offered additional details on the traffic stop that led to the fatal shooting of Martinez.
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Ursitti said the stop occurred around 8 p.m. Monday in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue, when a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle, with three people inside, blocking traffic at the intersection.
According to Ursitti, Martinez and his partner were speaking with the driver of the vehicle when after noticing that McMillian, who was in the front passenger seat, had reached for a bag on the floor of the vehicle.
Officer Martinez and his partner then gave verbal commands for McMillian to stop reaching, at which time he pulled out a fully automatic handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine before firing in the direction of Martinez, fatally striking him. The driver of the vehicle was also fatally struck by McMillian's gunfire.
Ursitti said McMillian then pushed the driver out of the vehicle and jumped into the driver's seat as another officer attempted to pull McMillian away from the vehicle. McMillian then put the vehicle in reverse, dragging the officer near McMillian. The officer fired their weapon once, which did not strike McMillian.
"The vehicle crashed into a parked car, coming to a stop a short distance later. McMillian fled the vehicle and entered a first-floor apartment with a woman inside. McMillian found a knife he used to cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet and then fled the scene," Ursitti said. The woman was unharmed in the incident.
A short time later, officers located McMillian in the 8000 block of South Maryland Avenue, where he was taken into custody after being positively identified.
"While this does not erase the grief of Officer Martinez's family, we hope it brings a small measure of comfort knowing the person responsible for his murder will face justice. I want to thank the responding officers and detectives from the investigative response team who made sure this offender was taken into custody and would not be able to hurt anyone else," Ursitti said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed his condolences for Martinez's family, while referencing a shooting in West Rogers Park late last month in which officers and paramedics were fired upon after an Orthodox Jewish man was shot in a hate crime.
"A mere six days later, we stand once again shoulder to shoulder, talking about the horrific violence that continues to plague not just our city, but the men and women who wear a uniform and run to the danger," Johnson said.
"Our officers go out and face this type of danger every single day," Snelling said following the shooting. "And this work is unpredictable. We never know what's in store for our officers when they're out there trying to keep the public safe. And just remember, in a city where our officers are not safe, its going to be hard for everyone else to be safe."
According to Snelling, Martinez was 26 years old, and just shy of three years on the job. He worked in the 6th District, NBC 5's Lisa Chavarria said, which includes the Gresham neighborhood and other surrounding communities.
"A proud individual," Snelling said. "Very hard working."
