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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Slain Chicago police officer was ‘living the American dream,' prosecutors say as trial opens
On the day he was killed, prosecutors said, Chicago police Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso woke up early in the morning in the home he bought in the same district he worked in. He said goodbye to his wife, a flight attendant, who had a full day of flights ahead of her. Later that afternoon, Vásquez Lasso began his final shift, prosecutors said, during which he was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call on March 1, 2023. 'Andres Vásquez Lasso was living the American dream,' said Assistant State's Attorney Katie Siefert. 'Andres cared so much for the community he patrolled, he moved into the 8th District and bought his home there.' Attorneys on Tuesday delivered opening statements to the jury at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in front of a courtroom packed with police officers and family members. The jury was sworn in by Judge John Lyke Jr. after being empaneled on Monday. Steven Montano, 21, is charged with murder and other felonies in the attack, accused of fatally shooting the 32-year-old officer as children cowered under a slide at a nearby park. Montano's defense attorneys asked jurors to keep an open mind, telling them that Montano was only 18 at the time, in a relationship with a 37-year-old woman. They argued that the case does not equate to first degree murder, saying Montano had a 'most unfortunate reaction' to a stressful situation. 'Cars were barreling down on him,' said Assistant Public Defender Hussain Khan. 'Officers were running behind him.' Remembered by friends and family as a loyal friend and capable police officer, Vásquez Lasso, was responding to the call when he was shot and killed in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue on the city's Southwest Side. 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. The domestic incident began, according to prosecutors, when Montano threatened to get his gun during an argument with his 37-year-old girlfriend. She left the residence through a side door and called 911. Montano had also grabbed her phone and tried to stop her from calling for help, prosecutors alleged. As police arrived, Montano jumped out of a window, prosecutors said, and was chased by Vásquez Lasso, who had arrived on scene. As the chase neared a playground, 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 took cover. The case went before the jury as the Chicago Police Department is still mourning the fatal shooting of another one of their own, Officer Krystal Rivera, who was killed by a fellow police officer on June 5, the first CPD officer to die of friendly fire in nearly 40 years. 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.
Chicago Tribune
2 days 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.
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Alleged killer of CPD Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso set for trial
As a domestic confrontation spilled out onto a Southwest Side sidewalk on March 1, 2023, emergency dispatchers did what they do every day and assigned officers to hustle to the scene. 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.'
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Daily Mail
Disturbing new video shows what happens when unarmed cops are made to patrol Chicago's subways
A Chicago police officer was attacked by raging subway riders while patrolling a station, new video showed. An unidentified officer was seen standing alone next to the 69th subway station placard while three riders screamed at him in a verbal altercation that turned physical on an unknown date. One of the men swung at the officer, who managed to duck, but was knocked off his feet after taking a punch to the ribcage. He was able to get up, but was immediately surrounded by the three men who swung at him multiple times. The officer was hit again and was struck so hard he fell against the stopped Red Line subway before hitting the concrete. The officer managed to slip to safety while his comrades kept his attackers at bay until they walked away. Other videos showed K9 units and their officers being attacked on the platform. Daily Mail has reached out to the Chicago Police Department for comment. It doesn't appear that the transit cops were armed, leaving them vulnerable to attacks in a city where crime is up 42 percent over a four-year period, police statistics showed. It doesn't appear that the transit cops were armed, leaving them vulnerable to attacks in a city where crime is up 42 percent over a four-year period, police statistics showed Crime is, however, down 14 percent compared to 2024 between January and June. And it's not just officers who are fearing attacks, as a 56-year-old man was beaten to death in a different subway station on July 4. The man was involved in a late-night brawl at the Clark/Lake station around 10:30pm, where he suffered a head injury. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to People. More than 2,200 crimes have taken place in the Windy City's subway system, with nearly 650 battery cases, 238 assaults, and 29 sex offenses. A crime happens on the transit system once every three hours, the Illinois Policy found. And every one ride out of 100,000 will result in a crime. The system has around 765,566 rides per weekday.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Chicago Police Department arrests woman accused of stealing Prevea Health shuttle van in Green Bay, vehicle unfound
CHICAGO, Ill. (WFRV) – The Green Bay Police Department says it is no longer searching for a carjacking suspect who on Tuesday morning. According to the release, the suspect, identified as 46-year-old Jerilyn Soto of Keshena, was arrested in Chicago with the help of the Chicago Police Department. Update given on man recovered from Fox River, no foul play suspected Soto allegedly stole the van at HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center by forcing a Prevea Health employee to exit the vehicle while holding them at knifepoint. The vehicle has not yet been recovered and is still being searched for. The van is a dark gray 2022 Chrysler Pacifica with Wisconsin license plate No. 35729AFT. It has a white triangular topper that reads 'Prevea Health Patient Shuttle' and a listed phone number of 615-0985. Nobody is believed to be injured. The release added the following statement from the Green Bay Police Department: 'The Green Bay Police Department would like to recognize the Chicago Police Department, our surrounding local law enforcement agencies, Prevea Health, HSHS St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, and members of the general public for their valuable assistance and cooperation in this case.' Green Bay Police Department Crews respond to plastic fabrication company in Oconto for machine fire Anybody with information is asked to contact the Green Bay Police Department at (920) 448-3200. Anonymity is available by calling (920) 432-7867. No additional details are available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
