Funeral services held for fallen CPD Officer Luis Huesca
OAK LAWN, Ill. — Funeral services with full police honors were held Monday for fallen Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca, the third time in less than a year the Chicago Police Department will lay to rest a young officer.
Services took place at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel in Chicago at 10 a.m., followed by an interment at Rosehill Cemetery on the city’s North Side.
“Luis, in his home neighborhood of Gage Park fought evil for us,” Father Matt Foley of St. Gall Parish said. “That’s a great gift and a testimony of his servant’s heart.”
Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling offered condolences to the family and shared how Huesca made an impact in his six years on the force.
“He was always trying to leave things better than he found them,” Snelling said.
Those who knew that to be true shared their thoughts on a man killed just days before his 31st birthday and just over a year since the shooting death of his friend and academy classmate Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso.
“I lost two classmates. My two brothers,” Officer Lucia Chavez said. “The violence in this city took them away from us.”
The service was in Spanish and English to honor his heritage and as a nod to his ability to speak many languages.
In a statement released Monday morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he would not be attending the officer’s funeral. According to Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Huesca’s mother asked her and Rep. Angelica Guerrero Cuellar to tell the mayor he was “unwelcome at her son’s funeral.”
Mayor Johnson will not attend funeral of CPD Officer Huesca after family says he’s ‘unwelcome’
On Sunday, mourners gathered to pay their respects to Huesca in a public visitation at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn, as the search continues for the person who gunned him down near his Gage Park home just over a week ago.
The visitation came a week after Huesca was fatally shot in the 3100 block of West 56th Street while returning home from work.
Huesca, who had been with the department for six years, died while still in uniform.
Authorities have since classified Huesca’s death as “in the line of duty,” which will allow his family to receive survivors’ death benefits.
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Those who stopped by Sunday to pay their respects to Huesca described his killing as senseless.
“It’s a tragedy that once again we are standing in this parking lot, across the street from this funeral home, mourning the loss of another fallen hero,” said retired CPD Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy, among those who attended.
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Woodcrafter Juan Cayetano also attended and brought a special gift that he crafted for Huesca’s family.
“We’ve been doing memorials for fallen officers and first responders, and this time we’re here to donate this memorial for Officer Huesca,” Cayetano said.
While the community mourns the loss of the fallen officer, the search for his killer has intensified.
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Rewards totaling $100,000 are now being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of 22-year-old Xavier L. Tate, who police say is wanted in connection with Huesca’s murder. On Friday, a source told WGN Investigates that an arrest warrant had been issued for Tate, but he has not yet been taken into custody.
Crime Stoppers and the ATF are offering a combined $25,000 reward for information leading to Tate’s arrest. The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, FBI and the Fraternal Order of Police are also offering a combined $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
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Those with information on Tate’s whereabouts can reach out to Area One Detectives at 312-747-8380, or anonymous tips can be filed online at cpdtip.com.
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