Off-duty Chicago police officer John Rivera ambushed, killed in 'unprovoked' shooting: Officials

[oldsoftie]

Source: ABC News

A Chicago police officer who had just finished his shift was shot and killed early Saturday in an apparently random attack, officials said.
Officer John Rivera, 23, and another victim were ambushed and shot about 3:30 a.m. local time while sitting in a vehicle in the Downtown section of the city, police brass said in a news conference Saturday morning.

The two shooting victims and two other people, including another off-duty police officer, had just left a nightclub, officials said.

"It's just a shame, this kid, 23 years old, had his whole life and career ahead of him, and he gets gunned down senselessly," said Eddie Johnson, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department at an afternoon news conference.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/off-duty-chicago-police-officer-shot-devastating-incident/story?id=61888787

[global1]

1. Does Anyone Here Know How Many Off Duty Policemen Have ....

been killed in Chicago. It seems that off-duty police get killed in Chicago with some frequency. I've always have been suspicious of these killings.

[oldsoftie]

2. It does seem like this has happened several times.

[artemisia1]

3. I wonder if he is related to Frank Serpico? /nt

[Honeycombe8]

4. Horrible. So sad. nt

[Eugene]

5. 2 men charged with murder of off-duty Chicago police officer John Rivera, including would-be cop

Source: ABC News

2 men charged with murder of off-duty Chicago police officer John Rivera, including would-be cop

John Rivera had just completed his shift when he was gunned down.

By Morgan Winsor and Emily Shapiro 2h ago

Two men have been arrested for the murder of Chicago police officer John Rivera, who was ambushed and gunned down hours after finishing his shift this weekend, authorities said Monday.

One of the suspects, accused shooter 24-year-old Menelik Jackson, was an applicant to be an officer for the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told ABC News.

Jackson, of South Holland, Illinois, was arrested during a polygraph test for a background check for committing an armed home invasion. A judge subsequently put him on probation, Guglielmi said.

Jackson and his accused co-conspirator, Jovan Battle, 32, of Chicago, will each face one felony count of first-degree murder and three felony counts of attempted murder, Guglielmi said on Twitter. Jackson also faces charges of resisting police after trying to flee during arrest, he said.

Link to tweet

-snip-

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/men-charged-murder-off-duty-chicago-police-officer/story?id=61922060

[oldsoftie]

6. Thank you for the update. PROBATION for an ARMED home invasion? The judge should pay for that.

Somehow.

[yagotme]

7. This is standard fare here in IL.

Jails/prisons are at capacity, Cook county prosecutors not going for full sentencing, even the "catch" rate is low in Chicago, something like 20-25%. Plea bargains galore. That's why the Smollett case irritated me, he burned up a lot of resources that the police could have used for "real" crimes.

[Blue_Tires]

8. Evidently only cops can officially die in "unprovoked" shootings...

(and no, I'm not trying to defend this so don't even start)