16 year old Charged in death of Chicago Police Officer

[Guest guest]

Here is an article that kind of sums up the stories that I have heard about

what happened. I wasn't at work when it happened and don't work the radio

for that area of the city but I've know for years. Our center is in

the same police district and he used to come up there and visit. He will be

missed by all. Thank you for keeping him, his family and friends in your

thoughts and prayers.

Chicago (Illinois) 9-1-1

Witchy666@...

my opinions.. ..never theirs.. ..and never to be used without prior written

consent

Cops charge teen in officer's death

By E.A. Torriero and Strzalka, Tribune staff reporters

A 16-year-old was charged with first-degree murder Saturday night in the

death of a plainclothes Chicago police officer in a Pilsen neighborhood alley

known for crossfire between rival gangs.

Officer T. Strouse, 33, shot in the face and vest early Saturday

morning, was the first Chicago police officer slain in the line of duty since

1999 and the fourth tactical officer gunned down since 1998.

Strouse was hit when several bullets were fired from across the street as he

was hiding behind a parked van during surveillance for gang and drug

activity, investigators said. Hours before the 2 a.m. shooting, gang members

had exchanged gunfire in the alley.

The male teenager, charged as an adult, made a videotaped confession in front

of his parents, police said. His name was not released.

The boy is described by police as being a gang member and told police he was

acting as security patrol for his gang's drug dealing when he spotted Strouse

and began firing.

" He heard the officer yell police and he continued to fire, " said Philip

Cline, chief of detectives.

Strouse did not fire back, police said. The teenager was apprehended minutes

after the shooting, and his fingerprints were found on a 40-caliber handgun

found in another alley across the street, police said. The gun is believed to

be the murder weapon, they said.

The slaying in the 1300 block of West 18th Place shook the surrounding

neighborhood, where many houses are freckled with bullet holes, residents say

they often duck to avoid gunfire, and gangs torment the area with mayhem.

Strouse, who joined the force in 1995, knew the beat. He worked it often,

usually on the midnight shift. Fellow officers described Strouse as a cop who

" could walk into a place of chaos and turmoil " and bring calm. Folks in

Pilsen knew him by name and by face.

A Gulf War veteran, Strouse was deployed to the area early Saturday after

neighbors reported gangs were again shooting at one another. " Ongoing

gunplay, " is how police later described it.

Out of uniform but wearing a protective chest vest, Strouse took up a

position in the alley while two of his partners hid nearby, police said. The

officers were watching several homes for signs of drug dealing or gang

activity.

The alley between Loomis and Throop Streets was known to residents as a

shooting gallery where rival gang members taunt, shout at and fire at one

another, neighbors said.

" The alley is a playground for gangs, " said one resident, who said he has

filled a glass jar with spent bullet casings from gang gunfire over the last

year.

Strouse was crouched behind a parked van about 2 a.m. when shots rang out,

police said. Witnesses later told police someone had fired at Strouse from

across 18th Place.

Minutes before the shooting, Strouse's partners had temporarily lost sight of

him because of people moving along the streets, police said.

" When two officers heard a series of shots, they left their hiding

positions, " said Area 4 Sgt. Bob Stasch. " They responded to the location

where the shots came from and they found the officer on the ground lying near

the van. "

The officers fired no shots, said Bayless, director of police news

affairs. Police did not say whether Strouse had pulled his gun from his

holster.

Strouse's partners cradled him as he lay bleeding in the street. He had been

hit twice, taking one bullet in his vest and another in the face.

Strouse was taken by ambulance to Cook County Hospital and was pronounced

dead at 9:10 a.m.

" We are all in shock, " said Chicago Police Sgt. Gerry Ganey, who worked at

the Monroe District station with Strouse and said he had known him for five

years.

Officers questioned a few dozen people at the station Saturday, Stasch said.

Strouse was the first Chicago officer slain on duty since Camp, 34, was

killed with his own gun in a tussle on the South Side on March 9, 1999.

Like Strouse, Camp was working out of uniform, as were the department's other

two officers slain since 1998, Ceriale and Knight. All were part

of the police tactical squads, elite officers who perform some of the most

dangerous assignments on the 13,500-member force.

Strouse, who fellow officers and family members said loved being a cop, was

remembered fondly in Pilsen on Saturday.

" He would pass by [my house] and always ask, 'How are you doing?' " said

Morales, who lives on 18th Street.

At a previously scheduled anti-crime march in Pilsen, just blocks from where

Strouse was gunned down, Mayor Daley, Police Supt. Terry Hillard and

other community leaders publicly offered condolences to Strouse's family and

friends.

Daley encouraged Pilsen residents to use the officer's death as a rallying

point to stand up against the " scourge " of gangbangers and drug dealers.

" He gave his life for your children, " Daley said.

Those who knew Strouse said he never flinched at working Pilsen's rougher

streets.

" He just got up every day and did what he had to do, " said one of his three

younger sisters, also a Chicago police officer. " He didn't dwell on the

danger, though both of us were well aware of it. "

The sister, who asked not to be identified, was at Strouse's Northwest Side

condominium Saturday afternoon gathering telephone numbers of friends.

Strouse, who was single, grew up in the Galewood area of Chicago and dreamed

of being a firefighter, his sister said. After graduating from high school,

he joined the U.S. Marines, she said.

" He was sent to Saudi Arabia, " she said. " He was in the ground war in the

Gulf War. "

After military service, Strouse pursued police work along with his sister. He

was an avid Cubs fan, she said.

The people of Chicago " lost a great person who worked hard for all the people

who don't have the courage to do what we do every day, " his sister said.

" They lost one that went out and did it for them every day. "

Tribune staff reporters Kantzavelos, Aamer Madhani, Rivedal and

Jeff Meredith contributed to this report.

Copyright 2001 Chicago Tribune

Chicago (Illinois) 9-1-1

Witchy666@...

my opinions.. ..never theirs.. ..and never to be used without prior written

consent