Chicago police commander killed in armed battle
CHICAGO — An off-duty police commander was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in downtown Chicago after he spotted a man matching the radio description of an armed suspect that officers were chasing on foot, the city’s police superintendent said.
Cmdr. Paul Bauer was shot multiple times after he “saw the offender and engaged in an armed physical confrontation,” Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. He choked back tears as he spoke to reporters outside Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where Bauer was pronounced dead.
The shooting occurred near the James R. Thompson Center, the state government office building. Johnson said officers initially confronted the suspect because he was acting suspiciously. Police captured the man a short time later, and a gun was recovered at the scene, he said.
Bauer, 53, was a 31-year veteran of the department.
There were initial media reports that the man may have been involved in the robbery of a local business, but Johnson did not provide details about what the man was doing that prompted officers to want to speak with him.
Witnesses to parts of the incident near said they heard gunshots.
Witness Noreen Danko told the Chicago Tribune that she saw officers lead the shackled suspect away and put him in a squad car, then watched as emergency workers administered CPR to Bauer before he was rushed to the hospital.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered his condolences, too, calling Bauer’s death “a tragic reminder of the dangerous duty the men and women of our police department accept to ensure the safety of us all.”