Mayor Brandon Johnson said Martinez “bravely protected this city” and called on city residents to pray for his family and support police.

“This tragic loss is profound; the injury is serious,” Johnson said, standing next to Snelling. “The only way for us to overcome this tragic loss is to hug each other and recognize the valor and courage of our police department, who risk their lives for us every day. »

One of the occupants of the vehicle, who remained unidentified, was also shot and killed.

The suspected shooter fled the vehicle after initially trying to run away, Snelling said. He was taken into custody after a brief foot chase and search of the scene, and the rear passenger was also arrested.

Snelling said officers recovered a handgun from the person who was fatally shot inside the vehicle, as well as another weapon with an extended magazine. After the shooting, an officer reported over the police radio that one of the occupants of the vehicle was armed with an “automatic weapon.”

Snelling said an officer also opened fire, although it was not clear who. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is currently investigating the shooting, which was captured on video by frantic police dispatches, sometimes drowned out by screams and radio interference.

“We transport one (police officer) to the University of Chicago; he’s hit,” an officer said. “Block the streets!” »

A false shooting call came minutes earlier

Minutes before the shooting, a woman reported shooting at someone who was trying to break into her 2017 Kia Soul in the 8200 block of South Ingleside Avenue, two blocks south of location where Martinez was shot. An officer later reported on the radio that the shooting was not “authentic.”

The woman told the Sun-Times that she falsely reported a shooting after 911 dispatchers explained that a car break-in would not warrant an immediate police response.

The woman, 50, said officers arrived minutes after the false shooting report, but Martinez was not among those who responded.

After a brief argument during which officers realized no one had been shot, the woman watched them speed away and suddenly heard screaming and “rapid gunfire.”

“Let him go!” the woman said the officers shouted several times.

Late Tuesday morning, the neighborhood was quiet. Neighbor John Wilson, 62, expressed sympathy for Martinez’s family as he reflected on the “savage” 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.

The suspect has a criminal history

On Monday evening, uniformed and plainclothes police officers gathered at the hospital where Martinez was taken. Some embraced each other; others were heard screaming.

Snelling said it’s impossible to “know what awaits our officers when they try to keep the public safe.”

The suspect who remains in custody is a convicted felon who has been placed on electronic monitoring in Will County. Snelling said the tracking device had been disabled, but noted 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 thwart 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 a warrant, and he was later turned over to Will County authorities, according to court records. After he was released on electronic monitoring in connection with the new case, Will County prosecutors requested he be detained pending trial on the cannabis charges. This case continued on October 28.

He previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of shooting into a vehicle in May 2021, according to court records.

While in prison in this case, he was charged with additional crimes stemming from a group of inmates’ attack 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 prison in the shooting case, with 728 days served as well as mandatory supervised release. He was only fined and ordered to pay court costs in the other case, records show.

A spokesman for the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office said prosecutors are cooperating with the state’s Office of Pretrial Services and the Chicago police homicide investigation, but they declined to comment further.

Snelling said authorities must do more to prevent “repeat offenders” from committing crimes.

“We cannot allow people to continue to wreak havoc on this city, victimizing it with violent crimes, robberies and shootings,” he said. “The trauma they cause to the families and individuals they attack, they can never get back.”

Union boss calls shooting ‘worst case scenario’

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he was “almost numb” to the violence hitting Chicago cops.

“It’s unfortunately part of the landscape,” Catanzara said.

He insisted the video purportedly showing the deadly encounter demonstrates the delicate line officers must walk. In the video, a police officer can be heard repeatedly ordering someone to “stop reaching out.”

“You’re going to get shot,” the officer said before a barrage of gunshots rang out. Catanzara said it was another example of “how quickly things can go wrong.”

“It’s the worst-case scenario of what a lot of idiots in this city and across this country believe,” Catanzara said, referring to police officers, politicians and prosecutors, “that a police officer apparently needs to be shot first or shot and killed before it is appropriate to retaliate.

He accused many officials of “slandering the police” and said they should not bother attending Martinez’s funeral. The list included Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, COPA staff and everyone who voted in favor of the state’s criminal justice legislation. the SAFE-T Act.

“The only consideration should be the wishes of the family,” he said, noting that Martinez’s family members are also on the police force. “There is no protocol that says the mayor has to be present at the funeral, regardless of what this department says and tries to push the family to do so.

“If the family decides they don’t want specific people there, that should be enough.”