If you woke up on Tuesday, Nov. 5 and went to bed early the night before, you woke up to the news not just about Election Day — but also the news that another Chicago police officer was murdered in the line of duty.
Officer Enrique Martinez, whose funeral was held on Monday, was one month shy of his third year on the job when he was brutally gunned down during a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. The weapon: a semi-automatic handgun modified with a switch to allow the gun to fire as a fully automatic weapon. The man now charged with Martinez's murder was on electronic monitoring and used a knife to cut off his ankle bracelet as he tried to flee before being arrested.
What is shameful to me is that I also woke up the next day hearing politicians, anti-police activists, and some media organizations crying "crocodile tears" over the Martinez's death.
But each of those groups contributed in some way, I believe, to what is taking place not only in Chicago but in Illinois and across the United States — the war on police.
Earlier this year, I wrote an op-ed on how the violence against police must stop. Nobody is listening. It's my view that many of our local and state officials and legislators contributed to Martinez's death. You might think this sounds outlandish, but here is my evidence.
The "defund the police" movement is not over. It's now taken the form of restrictive legislation and policies and procedures that reduce police officers' ability to protect themselves and the public, such as tight restrictions on police chases.
Then there's the rhetoric of some local, state and national leaders who vilify police and are hypercritical of every incident in which police are involved. Are police officers correct 100% of the time? Obviously not, and almost all police leaders will tell you that. There is no profession where every single employee is perfect, and officers understand that they have more responsibility and accountability, because they carry a gun, can take an individual's life lawfully, and have the authority to take away your civil liberties by locking you up.
Police chiefs, superintendents, and police leaders need to forget about the political atmosphere and stand up for your officers and their personal safety. When mayors, village presidents, and other political leaders tell you to stay out of the fray and stand down, or impose unrealistic policies and standards in your department, you need to push back.
When I was chief in Riverside, I always stood up for my officers when they were right, and when they were wrong, we mentored them to prevent a repeat of the mistake.
In retirement, I now volunteer for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which helps police officers and their families and friends when there is a line-of-duty death, among other tasks. It is my honor to do so.
So, when you hear our local and state politicians telling you how sorry they are that another officer was killed in the line of duty — after the crocodile tears, they will lower the flag to half-staff for a week and then put it right back up and move on with their lives — tell them that police families do not simply move on with their lives.
There are only small measures of peace throughout the long process of grief and loss, to where the family will one day be able to function, not as before, but by putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward in honoring the officer's service, in this case to the City of Chicago.
No matter who you are or what your view of policing is, when you need help from the police, you call 911. We are there to serve, no matter what the situation. It's time to stop putting out damaging rhetoric that encourages and empowers felons to resist, fight and shoot police, believing there will be no accountability
My condolences to Officer Martinez’s family, friends, and coworkers. You have my full support and always will.
Tom Weitzel retired as chief of the Riverside Police Department in May 2020 after 37 years in law enforcement.
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