A suspect in the killing of Chicago police Officer Enrique Martinez was released without charges Tuesday evening — a day after a traffic stop in Chatham devolved into a high-powered shooting that also killed a passenger in the vehicle that was being curbed.
Another suspect with a significant criminal record remained in custody, according to a Chicago police spokesperson, who called the investigation “active and ongoing.”
The shooting happened after officers stopped a vehicle with three people inside at about 8 p.m. Monday in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue, police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters that night.
One of the vehicle’s occupants shot at Martinez, according to Snelling, who said, “It sounded like rapid fire.”
Other officers rushed Martinez to University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Speaking outside the hospital, Snelling said Martinez “was a proud individual, very hardworking, and he gave his life for the city.”
The slain Gresham District officer would have marked three years on the job in December.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said Martinez had “courageously protected this city” and called on city residents to pray for his family and embrace the police department.
“This tragic loss cuts deep; the wound is severe,” Johnson said standing beside Snelling. “The only way we’ll get through this tragic loss is if we put our arms around one another and recognize the value, the bravery of our police department, who put their lives on the line for us every day."
One of the occupants of the vehicle, who remained unidentified, was also shot dead.
The alleged shooter ran from the vehicle after initially trying to drive away, Snelling said. He was taken into custody after a brief foot chase and search of the area, and the back seat passenger was also arrested.
Snelling said officers recovered a handgun from the person who was fatally shot inside the vehicle, along with another gun with an extended magazine. After the shooting, an officer reported over police radio that one of the vehicle’s occupants was armed with an “automatic weapon.”
Snelling said an officer also opened fire, though it was unclear who. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is now investigating the shooting, which was captured on frantic police dispatches that were at times drowned out by screaming and radio interference.
“We are transporting one [police officer] to the University of Chicago; he is struck,” an officer said. “Block the streets!”
Bogus shooting call came minutes earlier
Minutes before the shooting, a woman reported she had shot someone who tried to break into her 2017 Kia Soul in the 8200 block of South Ingleside Avenue, two blocks south of where Martinez was shot. An officer later reported over the radio the shooting wasn’t “bona fide."
The woman told the Sun-Times she falsely reported a shooting after 911 dispatchers explained a car break-in wouldn't warrant an immediate police response.
The woman, 50, said officers arrived within minutes of the bogus shooting report, but Martinez wasn't among those who responded.
After a brief dispute when the officers realized no one had been shot, the woman watched them speed away and suddenly heard screaming and “rapid gunfire."
“Drop it!” the woman said officers shouted repeatedly.
By late Tuesday morning, the block was quiet. Neighbor John Wilson, 62, expressed sympathy for Martinez's family as he reflected on the "wild" shooting.
"I feel sorry for them. He was just doing his job," said Wilson, who has lived in the area for more than two decades.
Suspect has criminal history
On Monday night, uniformed and plainclothes officers gathered at the hospital where Martinez was taken. Some embraced each other; others were heard shouting.
Snelling said it's impossible to "know what’s in store for our officers when they’re out there trying to keep the public safe."
The suspect who remains in custody is a convicted felon who had been placed on electronic monitoring in Will County. Snelling said the tracking device had been cut off but noted that police were still investigating.
The Will County sheriff’s office issued a warrant for his arrest last month, and he was charged with a felony, allegedly for trying to foil a drug test, according to court records. At the time, the 23-year-old was already facing felony cannabis charges.
Chicago police arrested him Oct. 11 on the warrant, and he was later turned over to authorities from Will County, court records show. After he was released on electronic monitoring in the new case, Will County prosecutors sought to have him detained pending trial on the cannabis charges. That case was continued on Oct. 28.
He previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of shooting into a vehicle in May 2021, court records show.
While he was being held in jail in that case, he was hit with additional felony charges stemming from attack by a group of inmates on another inmate. He pleaded guilty to a battery charge that was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor on the same day as his other plea deal.
He was sentenced to four years in jail in the shooting case, with 728 days served as well as mandatory supervised release. He was only given fines and forced to pay court costs in the other case, records show.
A spokesperson for the Will County state’s attorney’s office said prosecutors are cooperating with the state’s pretrial services office and the Chicago police homicide investigation, but they declined to comment further.
Snelling said officials have to do more to prevent "repeat offenders" from committing crimes.
"We cannot allow people to continue to wreak havoc on this city, to victimize people with violent crimes, robberies, shootings," he said. "The trauma that they’re causing for families and for individuals that they’re attacking, they can never get that back."
Union boss calls shooting ‘worst-case scenario’
John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he’s “almost become numb” to the violence impacting Chicago cops.
“It’s part of the landscape, sadly,” Catanzara said.
He insisted that video purportedly showing the deadly encounter demonstrates the delicate line officers must walk. In the video, an officer can be heard repeatedly ordering someone to “stop reaching.”
“You’re gonna get f------ shot,” the officer says before a barrage of gunfire rings out. Catanzara said it’s another example of “how quickly things can go bad.”
“This is the worst-case scenario of what a lot of idiots in this city and across this country believe,” Catanzara said, “that an officer apparently needs to be shot at first or shot and killed before it’s appropriate to return fire.”
He accused a host of public officials of “vilifying the police” and said they shouldn’t bother attending Martinez’s funeral. The list included Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, COPA employees and anyone who voted in favor of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice legislation.
“The only consideration should be what the family’s wishes are,” he said, noting that Martinez’s brother is also on the police force. “There is no protocol that says the mayor has to be at the funeral, regardless of what this department says and tries to nudge the family toward.
“If the family decides that they do not want specific people there, that should be good enough.”
