Since childhood, Cook County correctional officer Rafael Wordlaw wanted to work in law enforcement like his grandfather. He also wanted to be the best-dressed person in any room.
Family said he accomplished both before the 31-year-old was senselessly gunned down at a South Side gas station last month.
Family and law enforcement officers mourned their loss and celebrated Wordlaw as a protector and hero on Friday at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in south suburban Harvey.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling were among the dozens of officers attending in their dress uniforms.
Wordlaw's family and friends dressed in red — his favorite color.
"We had to be here in support in the color he loved," cousin Lena Webber told reporters outside the church.
Wordlaw was shot to death July 30 while trying to protect a friend when a suspect walked up and tried to rob him at the Clark gas station at 67th Street and Indiana Avenue.
Wordlaw allegedly fired the first shot before the suspect began firing from two guns, modified to fire automatically and with a drum magazine, firing 69 times.
Wordlaw was struck in his chest and drove off, crashing into a pole a few blocks away. Wordlaw's friend, in a separate car at the gas station, was grazed twice.
The suspect was shot in his leg and arrested later at a hospital after giving a false name. Blood at the scene matched the suspect, Cordarrow Thompson, who is charged with murder in the attack, authorities said.
Wordlaw's funeral service was closed to media, but two of Wordlaw's cousins told reporters outside the church that he had always wanted to work in law enforcement.
"I remember him as a young boy. Once I asked him, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' And he said 'I want to be police,'" Webber said.
Tiffany Davenport, another cousin, said, "He died being a hero and being a protector."
"And that's all he wanted to do since [he was] a kid. And he fulfilled his dreams of becoming a sheriff. And I'm so proud of him. And I'm just glad he's resting in peace," Davenport said.
An obituary shared at the funeral said Wordlaw "aspired to be like his grandfather, following in his footsteps to a career in law enforcement."
At age 15, Wordlaw earned a certificate in criminal justice during a summer youth camp, according to the obituary. He graduated from Urban Prep Charter Academy high school, then earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Indiana State University.
After college, he worked as a security officer with AGB Investigative Services. He joined the Cook County sheriff's department in 2020 as a deputy officer in Division 6 of Cook County Jail, where he worked until his death.
Wordlaw was adopted at a young age by his aunt and grew close with his cousins, family said. He loved playing with wrestling toys and police cars, Davenport said.
As Wordlaw grew up, he embraced clothes and fashion. He aspired to be the best dressed at any event, according to the obituary. Photos in the funeral pamphlet show Wordlaw in a deep red tuxedo.
Dart, speaking to reporters outside the church, said Wordlaw was trying to protect people the night he was killed. He called on lawmakers to increase penalties for people caught with modified pistols.
"This is the insane, insane society we live in where somehow someone with two guns can fire 69 rounds in the course of seconds. And somehow we aren't racing for our legislators to change things," Dart said.
"We must do more. We owe it to this family. This family has lost everything," Dart said.
Wordlaw was preceded in death by his adoptive father, Roy Lee Wordlaw, his birth father Robert Webber Jr., and his sister, Angela Wordlaw. He is survived by his birth mother, Karen Wordlaw; his adoptive mother Margaret Wordlaw; his sisters Francheska, Kendal and many adoptive siblings, cousins and relatives.
