Post by Scumhunter on Mar 6, 2016 17:40:59 GMT -5
Nearly four years ago, on the early morning hours of February 12, 2007, a body of a man was found in a gated parking lot of a West Side Chicago apartment complex, and that body happened to be the one of a former Chicago police officer, identified as Jose Vazquez.
Chicago police say that at approximately 1:45am on that day, Vazquez, who was off-duty at the time, nearly made it to his home, which was the apartment complex he resided in, after he had returned from his second job working security at a city utility. Before he would make it to the doorstep of his home, Vazquez was suddenly approached by a gunman in the complex’s parking lot. Sources say that the gunman demanded his valuables, such as his cell phone and his wallet. But then, for reasons undetermined, police say that the gunman opened fire at the victim, striking his chest.
When rescue personnel arrived at the scene, Vazquez was taken to an area hospital, where he died.
Police say that the victim must have been followed through his footprints. It was also a cold and wet wintry day at the time with snow on the ground. Those footprints have led to and from the spot where the crime took place.
As the robber fled, he made off with three things from Vazquez, which were his cell phone, his wallet, and his life. Even so, his service weapon and his police badge were left behind at the scene, and a 9mm shell casing was found close to his body. The stolen items were never retrieved or located. Seemingly, the assailant ran off through a gangway on Harrison Street.
Although this looked more like an ordinary “robbery and murder” case, it was beyond it, since it involved a police officer, according to sources. In fact, numerous robberies have taken place in the victim’s neighborhood and their motives appear to be similar. In other words, the bandit(s) seized their wallets and their cell phones in nearly all these cases. Further, the robber (or robbers) have often hidden their identifies by veiling their faces, according to authorities, who also say that a group of bandits that aim at Chicago’s West Side may be responsible for this. With that said, Vazquez could be the victim of a possible serial robbery.
In the wake of this incident, Chicago police have become really desperate as they made every effort to search for the person (or persons) who murdered one of their own.
Police are not sure whether one or multiple suspects were involved in Vazquez’s slaying, even if there was only one set of snow footprints at the scene.
Authorities say that some time during or surrounding the incident, witnesses have heard what sounded like a potential altercation or confrontation. Then, the next thing they heard was only one sound of a gunshot. However, nobody was able to provide a comprehensive explanation of the gunman or the incident.
Jose Vazquez had served the Chicago Police Department for nearly eight years. In the final two years of his life, he was assigned to the elite Special Operations Squad. Shortly before the incident, he was anticipating to be accepted as a SWAT officer soon. He even thought of pursuing legal education. But unfortunately, he ever had the chance to reach these dream goals. He has earned both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree.
Sadly, he has left behind a wife. They had no children together.
It has been reported that Jose Vazquez became the first Chicago police officer to be slain since the year 2002.
Even if almost four years have passed since the appalling crime, no suspects have been determined and no arrests have been made.
According to Vazquez’s family members, it is believed that the slaying was linked to his assignment to the now-outdated Special Operations Section, which was afflicted by some sort of scandal. Two of his siblings added that they believe a “cover-up” has existed in this case, and that “cover-up” has possibly concealed the truth regarding this case. But on the other hand, police say that Vazquez’s assignment has nothing to do with his tragic death.
Jose Vazquez was 34-years-old when he was killed.
Despite how complex this and other criminal cases turn out to be, no one is giving up any hope that justice will someday be served for the victims and their loved ones.
Anyone with any further information about this case is encouraged to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-744-4000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP. It is highly recommended that tipsters should remain anonymous when reporting tips about actual criminal cases.
www.examiner.com/article/who-killed-this-former-chicago-police-officer-back-2007
Thoughts? The above article is from six years ago but I see nothing to indicate the case has been solved. Vazquez's case has been placed in the unsolved on tv section since America's Most Wanted profiled the case on their website. (Unfortunately their archive link no longer works for it).
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