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* Instead of a question, how about we just give this man a moment of respect?…

As slain Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis’ body was carried in to a West Side church Thursday morning, sources confirmed three suspects were in custody in his death.

His casket was draped in a Chicago city flag. Bagpipes played as the casket was carried in to United Baptist Church, as hundreds of police officers in dress uniforms looked on and saluted.

At the service, police Supt. Garry McCarthy told Lewis’ family: “We are indebted to you. … I promise we will not tire until we find and hold those responsible for this senseless act.”

* Officer Lewis had received 81 commendations from the CPD in just eight years…

The off-duty Chicago police officer slain in a West Side convenience store Thursday night had just gotten engaged on Christmas Day, family friends say.

Clifton Lewis, 41, an eight-year veteran assigned to the Austin District’s tactical team, was pronounced dead Thursday at Stroger Hospital, officials said. Two men had walked into the M & M Quick Foods about 8:30 p.m. at 1201 N. Austin Blvd. in the Austin neighborhood, shot the officer, and then grabbed his gun and star and fled, sources said. […]

At a press conference, Chicago Police Department Supt. Garry McCarthy said that both of the offenders were armed, one with a pistol and the other a weapon that appeared on video to be a TEC-9. He also said that Lewis, who was standing behind the counter, drew his own weapon and was “subsequently shot.”

“The officer didn’t stand a chance in this case. He did everything he could,” McCarthy said. “Both offenders were wearing masks when they entered the location. One of the two offenders immediately turned and started firing at Officer Lewis. And Officer Lewis engaged that individual … and was subsequently murdered.”

* This was a special man, and the community has responded…

Emanuel, who on Wednesday participated in a leafletting asking for the public’s help in finding Lewis’s killers, said the robbery and slaying do not embody Chicago.

“As I went door to door yesterday in Austin, I want you to know that I saw an outpouring of love and support for Officer Lewis,” Emanuel said. “…That is the city that we call home, and what happened the other night darkens our lives. That is not the city we know. That is not the city we love. And that is not the people we are.”

Quinn said that “Cliff truly was a hero” and someone who “understood you had to live in a community to protect a community.”

* So perhaps in our own little way we can help memorialize Officer Lewis…

In lieu of flowers, family members request donations be made to PAWS Chicago in the name of Ofc. Clifton Lewis.

* Click here to donate.

* Related…

* VIDEO: Lewis Death a ‘Tragic, Senseless Loss’: Emanuel

* VIDEO: Quinn Remembers Fallen Officer

* VIDEO: ‘Cliff Did Everything 100 Percent’: McCarthy

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 2:01 pm

Comments

What a great guy. What a terrible loss. Donating to PAWS right now!

Comment by phocion Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 2:11 pm
I agree with Phocion 100%. Donating now!

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 2:30 pm
I know the store where Officer Lewis worked security; it was robbed several times in the past couple of years. He thought he could make a difference protecting it during his off-duty hours.

Maybe he has, but at such a cost. He worked to make people’s lives better, and in respect to the family’s wishes, let’s help PAWS make the lives of Chicago’s many animals in need better.

Comment by Boone Logan Square Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 2:38 pm
Truly a terrible loss, my sympathies to the family and thank you Rich for bringing this up to us and I hope that we all donate money to PAWS

Comment by Publius Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 2:39 pm
thanks for this post. terribly sad.

Comment by amalia Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:12 pm
Great post Rich. It means alot. God bless his family and his soul.

Comment by eddy Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:33 pm
At first, I avoided reading this for fear of extreme sadness at work. I finally did, and indeed feel the terrible loss of someone I didn’t know. What a wonderful person and what a senseless tragedy for his family, rippling out to the whole community.

Giving to PAWS shows the family’s kind attention to the lives of others, including animals. Thanks to everyone who gives. His family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers.

Comment by tired of press Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:33 pm
I live very close to where this crime occurred, and was saddened all over again when I found the reward leaflet in my mailbox yesterday.

Rest in Peace, officer.

Comment by Bill F Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:43 pm
The dedication of these men who are willing to serve in these communities in protective roles is hard to comprehend. The examples they provide to the young people who live there offers a vision that can be followed to depart poverty and terror. Individuals who kill police or security people deserve a special place in hell both before and after their own deaths, and I hope justice will be effective and swift in this instance. To the families left behind, you have given us everything your loved one had, and everything they will ever have. We are so thankful. May you experience comfort and peace.

Comment by chad Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:44 pm
RIP

Comment by RMWStanford Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 3:58 pm
Officer Lewis’s murder is a huge loss.

I hope they catch up with the individuals responsible for this senseless act.

Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:16 pm
A devestating loss for his family and the police dept. My sympathies to all.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:22 pm
I meant “devastating”.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:23 pm
What the heck is happening in the Austin neighborhood? There seems to have been a noticeable uptick in serious crimes over the past few months. People are getting robbed at gunpoint on the Green Line at or near the Austin stop.
Is there a new type of street drug on the market? or is there a problem with the local police district? This reminds me of the bad old days when the Austin 7 were in cahoots with local gang members…
(And before you pile on because I’m a suburbanite complaining about city crime, you should know that I lived in that neighborhood for 10 years and still care about what happens there.)

Comment by soccermom Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:25 pm
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s memorial service remarks were very moving. What a very senseless, and deeply sad, tragedy. Reminds me of the late Robert Kennedy, who spoke about the “mindless menace of violence in America.”

Comment by Porter McNeil Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:28 pm
Really sad. Donation made.

Comment by Nuance Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:34 pm
Rest in Peace Officer Lewis.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 4:35 pm
I heard they caught the guy tonight on the radio just a little bit ago. Awesome.

Comment by Just Me Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 11:23 pm
“Is there a new type of street drug on the market?”
Just remember, it is prohibition not the drugs that cause the crime. Al Capone knew it, but our current politicians are too stupid to see the connection, and honest cops and innocent citizens die as a result.

Comment by wishbone Thursday, Jan 5, 12 @ 11:48 pm
Soccermom, Austin in the area between the Green Line and the Ike is the Midwest’s largest open air heroin market.

If you read our local papers police blotters, there’s usually a few items every week about folks copping in Austin then wandering into the relative safety of Oak Park to shoot up or snort. They’re usually arrested in some parking lot, on the nod, slumped over in their cars.

For whatever reason, it’s not on the radar of the Chicago media, but it’s for real.

Twice in the last year I’ve called the coppers about some dude passed out in his car, running, in front of my house. Both times it was an early Sunday morning. What a life.

Those arrested in the blotter are from all over the suburbs, Downstate, even Wisconsin and Iowa.

A mad dog that would gun down a cop in cold blood for convenience store chump change has to be put away forever.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jan 6, 12 @ 8:06 am