Alleged killer of CPD Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso set for trial
Among those who responded was 32-year-old Chicago police Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso.
But in a reminder of how dangerous domestic calls can be for officers, the situation escalated into more violence and Vásquez Lasso was shot and killed, prosecutors said, while children at a nearby playground took cover under a slide.
More than two years later, the officer's accused killer is scheduled to stand trial, with jury selection set to begin Monday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Barring any last-minute delays, Steven Montano, 21, will face a jury on charges of murder and other felonies in the attack in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue.
The case goes to trial as the Chicago Police Department is still mourning and grappling with the fatal shooting of Officer Krystal Rivera by a fellow police officer on June 5, the first CPD officer to die of friendly fire in nearly 40 years. The case is also the first involving a slain officer to go to a jury since one of Officer Ella French's killers was convicted at trial last year.
Vásquez Lasso was remembered by friends and family at his funeral as a loyal friend and confidant. He immigrated to the United States from Colombia when he was 18 years old and later enrolled in college and joined the Chicago Police Department.
'(He) gave up his life serving what he loved most: the police,' the Rev. Andrés Beltrán, a family friend, said in Spanish during the homily at his funeral. 'And he leaves us, and we say goodbye to him, not only as a Colombian but as a friend, as a colleague, as a family man.'
During his final act as a police officer, prosecutors said, Vásquez Lasso backed up his fellow officers in aiding Montano's 37-year-old girlfriend who left the residence through a side door and called 911 after Montano, during an argument, said he would get his gun.
Montano also grabbed her phone and tried to stop her from calling for help, prosecutors alleged during a 2023 hearing.
When officers arrived, they saw Montano jump out of a window and run away with what appeared to be a gun, prosecutors said.
As Montano ran past Sawyer Elementary School, according to prosecutors, he was spotted and pursued by Vásquez Lasso.
Montano turned toward the officer, prosecutors said, and both fired weapons. Vásquez Lasso hit Montano in the mouth area, and Montano shot the officer in the head, arm and leg as children and others in a nearby playground took cover.
The shooting was captured on Vásquez Lasso's body camera, prosecutors have said.
That means jurors will likely repeatedly see the shooting occur, which has become a hallmark of trials involving police shootings.
CPD began testing body-worn cameras for patrol officers in 2015 and later expanded their use as part of broad reform efforts spurred by the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014.
By the end of 2017, body cameras — a tool for both accountability and investigation — were in use for all Chicago Police Department patrol officers, which allows jurors and courtroom observers to watch, to some extent, a police shooting unfold.
The SAFE-T Act further broadened body-camera use across Illinois, requiring that all police officers in the state be outfitted with cameras by 2025.
Vásquez Lasso was one of two police officers shot to death in 2023 in attacks considered to be on-duty. About two months after he was killed, Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston was slain as she returned to her Avalon Park home from a late-night shift.
In a twist of fate, one of Vásquez Lasso's friends, Officer Luis Huesca, was shot and killed about a year later while heading home from his shift early in the morning.
In a remembrance video for his friend, Huesca praised Vásquez Lasso — before he himself was killed — as 'one of those guys that actually deserved this star.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Teen Killed in Meat Grinder Incident at Burrito Factory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A teenage cleaner was killed after he was sucked into a meat grinder at a Tina's Burritos factory. The 19-year-old sanitation worker, who has not been publicly identified, got trapped in the machine on Sunday night at a processing plant in Vernon, California. Sgt. Daniel Onopa, of the Vernon Police Department, said the victim was cleaning an industrial food processor at the site when the machine unexpectedly turned on. Coworkers heard his screams for help and tried to shut down the grinder, but were unable to do so in time to save his life, according to local news reports. The victim was declared dead when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Police say it appears to have been an accident and there is no suspicion of any foul play., There will be an investigation into how the machine was activated and managed to trap the young employee Newsweek has reached out by email to the Vernon Police Department, and has also messaged Tina's Burrito's outside of usual working hours through a contact form on its website, seeking further information and comment. File photo: an industrial cutter for grinding meat. File photo: an industrial cutter for grinding meat. Salomonus_/Getty Images Why It Matters The incident is likely to once again shine a light on industrial safety procedures, following a spate of accidents in recent years. In October last year, a tree worker lost both his legs in a woodchipper just 20 minutes into his first day on the job in Colorado. Investigations occasionally find fault with the companies involved. For example, the Department of Labor slapped Caterpillar Inc. with a fine of $145,027 in 2022 after claims that lax safety procedures had contributed to the death of an employee who was killed when he fell into a vat of molten iron in Illinois. What To Know The meat grinder incident in California occurred at about 9:30 p.m. local time when the after-hours cleaning crew were working at the site. Local news channel ABC 7 aired RMG News footage of the scene after the incident. Apparently filmed through a gate, past a fire truck with flashing lights, the clip showed workers milling around tables in a seating area, with some appearing emotional. One worker was shown wiping her eyes. Tina's Burritos is a well-known brand that makes single-serve frozen burritos. The company's website said it has so far fed more than 2 billion people and there is a video on the website to explain "how a 58-cent burrito gets made with this much flavor." CEO Robert Cross explained the company makes "over a million burritos a day," while several factory workers were featured in the footage explaining in Spanish a little about their roles and revealing which Tina's burrito was their personal favorite. What People Are Saying Sgt. Daniel Onopa, of the Vernon Police Department, said: "Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and coworkers affected by this tragedy." What Happens Next The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (known as Cal/OSHA) are now investigating the death.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Web searches on fatal blows and freezers made before suitcase murders, jury told
Computer searches for the phrase 'where on the head is a knock fatal?' were made on the day that two men whose body parts were later found in suitcases near the Clifton Suspension Bridge were killed, a jury has heard. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is on trial for the murders of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, on July 8 2024 in the flat the two shared in Scotts Road, Shepherd's Bush, west London. Mosquera is alleged to have repeatedly stabbed Mr Alfonso, who suffered injuries to his torso, face and neck, while Mr Longworth was attacked with a hammer to the back of his head and his 'skull shattered', prosecutor Deanna Heer KC has previously told jurors at Woolwich Crown Court. On Tuesday, it was suggested that Mosquera, a Colombian national who does not speak English, made repeated computer searches to find a freezer in the build-up to the killings. Many of the searches were in Spanish, some used Google translate and were also made while Mosquera was the only person in the house, the jury heard. He asked questions about delivery options and several searches were looking for a deep freezer, a chest freezer, a large indoor and outdoor freezer for sale. In the days before the killings the phrase 'hammer killer' was tapped into the computer. Giving evidence through a translator, Mosquera, who blames Mr Alfonso for Mr Longworth's death, said he must have carried out that search. The prosecution alleges that Mosquera, who took part in filmed sex sessions with Mr Alfonso 'decapitated and dismembered' two men and left their heads in a freezer before travelling to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol with other parts of their bodies. CCTV images in which Mr Longworth appears in a window show that he was still alive at the time those searches about potentially fatal blows to the head were made on July 8, the jury heard. Ms Heer asked Mosquera: 'Can you think of any reason why you would look for a search about 'where on the head is a knock fatal?' while Mr Longworth is still alive?' He replied 'no reason'. Ms Heer later said: 'I suggest that you did that in the morning and why you were searching for 'where on the head is a knock fatal?' is because you were planning to kill Mr Longworth.' Mosquera replied: 'No'. Ms Heer suggested the killing 'probably' happened around the time the curtains were seen closing at 12.30pm. She told Mosquera: 'You closed the curtains at 12.30pm and open them at 1pm. 'I suggest that this is the time you took a hammer and hit Paul Longworth. 'You approached him from behind and you hit him on the head with the hammer. You did so repeatedly.' Mosquera flatly denied the allegation and said: 'No'. A white plastic bag which had flaky and dried blood in it was found to contain Mr Longworth's DNA. Ms Heer asked Mosquera: 'Did you put that bag over Mr Longworth's head before you hit him with the hammer?' Mosquera replied: 'No.' Mosquera admits killing Mr Alfonso but claims it was manslaughter by reason of loss of control. He denies murdering either man and insists Mr Alfonso killed Mr Longworth. Mosquera had first come to the UK from Colombia in June 2024 on the promise of English lessons and financial support from Mr Alfonso, whom he had met years earlier through webcam sex websites.
Chicago Tribune
5 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Daywatch: CPD officers reporting use of force more often
Good morning, Chicago. The woman stood on the sidewalk outside her home and waited for the first officers to show up. Blood streamed down her face and shoulders. She had called 911 after her significant other stabbed her. When officers arrived at the home in the Back of the Yards in July 2022, she pointed to the open doorway. Standing about 10 feet from the threshold, a man kept his grip on a knife in his right hand. 'Shoot me,' the man barked at the officers, as he took small, deliberate steps forward. 'Please drop the knife,' an officer, also on the sidewalk, yelled back. 'I'm begging you. Drop the knife.' As the man's darkened silhouette continued forward, two red dots appeared: one on his chest, another on his thigh. 'Shoot me!' he demanded. A moment later, a Taser was fired. A direct hit, splitting the man's beltline. He fell backward, collapsing on the floor. An officer put down his Taser and put the man in handcuffs. One of the electrodes remained lodged in his shirt. It was the type of deadly force encounter that's routine for Chicago Police Department patrol officers in the city's rougher neighborhoods. While common — CPD officers are called to thousands of domestic disturbances every year — the incident and others like it serve as valuable training material for the city's Police Department in its post-Laquan McDonald era of reform. A new report from CPD shows a sizable year-over-year increase in reports of both use-of-force and firearm-pointing incidents by Chicago cops. The upticks come as the department continues its efforts to gather and analyze internal data in its march toward compliance with the city's federal consent decree. Read the full story from the Tribune's Sam Charles. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: why weather officials are extending an air quality alert for the Chicago area, how State Farm is defending a hefty 27.2% hike and the hobby former Bulls star Derrick Rose may be taking up in his retirement. Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History The Supreme Court cleared the way yesterday for the Trump administration to continue unwinding the Education Department, allowing it to move ahead with mass layoffs and a plan to outsource the department's operations to other agencies. Now, President Donald Trump and his education secretary, Linda McMahon, are free to execute the layoffs and break up the department's work among other federal agencies. An air quality alert issued yesterday afternoon for the Chicago area will be in effect through tonight, officials said. The alert, issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, applies to Cook County and surrounding McHenry, Lake, Kendall, Kane, DuPage, Grundy and Will counties, according to the National Weather Service. Former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist John Hooker was sentenced yesterday to a year and a half in prison for his role in an elaborate scheme to funnel $1.3 million to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for the powerful Democrat's help with the utility's legislative agenda in Springfield. Challenged by everyone from consumer groups to Gov. JB Pritzker over its imminent 27.2% homeowners insurance rate increase in Illinois, State Farm faces the question: Will it seek to defend its widely criticized decision? The answer: hail yes. Residential solar is particularly hard hit by President Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax bill. But the president's far-reaching budget bill, signed July 4, has dealt a mighty blow to Illinois' clean energy overall, ending a tax credit of up to $7,500 for electric vehicle buyers, reducing access to tax credits for battery and solar panel manufacturers, slowing the construction of wind and solar farms and leaving $14 billion of announced clean energy investment statewide at higher risk for cancelation or downsizing. Sesame Workshop was trying to regain full control over its Elmo account on the X platform after a hacker gained access and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages. Late changes to a court document scuttled a planned hearing yesterday for convicted murderer Marni Yang, who is seeking to have her case overturned in the shooting death of the pregnant girlfriend of a former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle. Even after investing heavily in veteran offensive linemen in March, the Chicago Bears weren't done bolstering the protection in front of quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears found additional help in the draft when they selected Luke Newman out of Michigan State with a sixth-round pick (No. 195). Derrick Rose is accustomed to standing shoulder to shoulder with greatness. But Sunday was a little different. The former NBA MVP for the Chicago Bulls sat on a stage alongside chess grandmaster and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, surveying an unplayed board. Newspaper horoscopes are read by more people than you might imagine, millions of you, writes Rick Kogan. Even as the number of newspapers has diminished, horoscopes remain a popular offering, much like such non-news items as games, crosswords and comics.
