Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins’ fatal shooting a day after Thanksgiving was the suburb’s first line-of-duty death in over eight decades.
But it was the second time within a month that a young officer in the larger metropolitan area was killed by gunfire while on the job. It also marked the second time within the year that shots had been fired on the downtown Oak Park block, a neighbor told the Sun-Times.
While the murders of Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez, 26, and Reddins took place in different jurisdictions, they have one thing in common: Both are emblematic of the dangers that police officers face and the gun violence that continually rages across the country.
Firearms were used in more than 75% of the deaths of 54 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty between January and September, according to the FBI. Data compiled by the Officer Down Memorial Page also shows that gunfire is by far the leading cause of line of duty deaths so far in 2024.
When adding Martinez, Reddins and other fallen officers to the list, the statistics will be even more distressing as 2024 comes to a close.
Reddins’ colleagues described him as a “natural born leader” who was patrolling the streets Friday because of staffing shortages.
The 40-year-old likely would have gone on to become a sergeant, Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said.
Those aspirations were shattered when Jerrell Thomas, of North Lawndale, allegedly shot Reddins near the Oak Park Public Library.
Reddins, a former Metra police officer, had been responding to a call of a gunman exiting a nearby Chase Bank branch before a bullet hit the left side of his body.
Thomas, 37, who was shot in his leg by another officer, has had previous run-ins with police, as his rap sheet includes arrests for aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting a police officer.
Reddins’ loved ones should have been preparing for the holidays instead of preparing for his funeral.
The officer’s mother and 19-year-old son aren’t the only ones who are at a loss. Oak Park residents also lost a professional who “closed substantial cases.”
“He had a talent that was needed here,” Johnson told reporters.
Highly respected officers like Reddins are needed everywhere. It is a tragedy that too many of them are gunned down in all ZIP codes, including the places where such shootings are least expected.
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