CHICAGO — Chicago officials announced charges Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a Chicago Police Officer.
23-year-old Darion McMillian was charged with two counts of first-degree murder — one being first-degree murder of a police officer — along with residential burglary, unlawful use of a weapon-machine gun, and unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of officer Enrique Martinez.
Martinez was shot and killed in the line of duty Monday night near the intersection of 82nd and Ingleside in the city’s Chatham neighborhood. Martinez, who was 26 years old, served CPD as an officer out of their 6th district, and was two months away from his third anniversary on the job, according to CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling.
Martinez’s death is the fifth such death in less than four years for CPD.
Snelling was joined Wednesday by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to announce the charges in Martinez’s murder.
CPD officials said on Monday, McMillian allegedly opened fire during a traffic stop where he was the front passenger in a vehicle with two other people in it.
According to police, the reason behind why Martinez and his patrol partner responded to the stop was because the vehicle McMillian was in, was blocking traffic.
When Martinez and his partner were talking to the driver of the vehicle, police said they noticed McMillian reaching for a bag on the floor of the vehicle.
CPD officials said officers instructed him to stop, and that’s when McMillian opened fire with a fully-automatic handgun, fatally shooting Martinez and the driver next to him in the vehicle.
Next, police said McMillian pushed the driver’s body out of the vehicle, hopped in the driver’s seat, and attempted to drive away from the scene. As this was happening, an officer tried to pull him out of the vehicle and instead, was dragged when McMillian put the car in reverse.
As the officer was being dragged by the car, police said their weapon fired once into the ground.
McMillian was then alleged to have crashed into a parked car and fled into an apartment, where he reportedly found a knife and removed an electronic monitoring device from his ankle. Ten minutes later, McMillian was arrested in the 8000 block of South Maryland Avenue.
“Let us continue to uphold Officer Enrique Martinez and his family,” Johnson said. “Hold him and his family in our hearts, and let us remember that Martinez served with gratitude, courage and love.”
The passenger in the backseat of the vehicle was taken into police custody and later released without being charged.
The identity of the driver who was shot and killed has not yet been released.
McMillian’s next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 11 a.m. CT.
