Latest news with #VásquezLasso
Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Afternoon Briefing: Trial opens in slaying of Chicago police officer
Good afternoon, Chicago. 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 delivered opening statements to the jury today at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in front of a courtroom packed with police officers and family members. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History Restoring the world Robert Francis Prevost grew up in and around Dolton is not possible. The village has evolved, and many of the boyhood haunts that he and children his age may have frequented are now empty buildings and photos in history books. Read more here. More top news stories: An argument that city elections workers should not be allowed to unionize because doing so would constitute 'political activity' did not pass muster with a judge for the state's labor board. Read more here. More top business stories: This year's Midsummer Classic is fascinating for many reasons, including the introduction of Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong on the big stage, the starting matchup between Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, the mashing of catcher Cal Raleigh and the continued dominance of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the best players of their era. Read more here. More top sports stories: Brookfield Zoo Chicago opened its new Tropical Forests primate habitat, featuring an expanded space for the zoo's first troop of bachelor gorillas and endangered black-handed spider monkeys rescued from wildlife trafficking. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Two people in New Jersey were killed after their vehicle was swept up in floodwaters during a storm that moved across the U.S. Northeast overnight, authorities said. Read more here. More top stories from around the world:
Chicago Tribune
6 hours 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
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.'
