Hundreds gather at funeral to honor CPD Officer Enrique Martinez
Family, friends and hundreds of officers gathered at a South Side funeral home on Monday to honor CPD Officer Enrique Martinez, who was fatally shot on the job earlier in November.
A bagpipe band played outside on the overcast morning as uniformed officers awaited the arrival of a procession carrying Martinez's body to St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave.
Martinez was killed Nov. 4 during a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood. He was 26 years old and on the force for nearly three years.
Darion McMillian, 23, was charged with opening fire from the passenger seat that evening as Martinez approached the car, fatally shooting Martinez and McMillian's friend who was driving. McMillian, who was on electronic home monitoring for another case, allegedly used a handgun equipped with an extended magazine and a switch to fire automatically.
At a visitation service on Sunday, officers came from across the country to honor Martinez at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in suburban Oak Lawn. Last weekend, Martinez was honored in a memorial Mass at St. Christina Church in Mount Greenwood.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would not attend Monday’s funeral after being asked by Martinez's family not to attend. The head of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing patrol officers, also said family asked that Gov. JB Pritzker not attend.
Martinez is among several officers killed on the job during the past few years: Luis Huesca, Aréanah Preston, Andres Vasquez Lasso and Ella French.