(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A solemn tribute was held Wednesday morning to honor fallen police officers in Cook County.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies came together for the 22nd Annual Peace Officers Ceremony of Recognition and Remembrance, held at the Cermak Woods Forest Preserve.
The 2023 event focused on six officers who died in the line of duty due to COVID-19 between November 2021 and January 2022.
"Thousands of law enforcement officers and first responders throughout the country began to contract COVID-19 during the worldwide pandemic," said Chicago Police Deputy Chief Stephen Chung. "Due to the nature of our jobs, law enforcement officers were required to work and to interact with our community members even as the majority of the country was self-quarantined."
Those remembered included: Officer Nicholas Kozak with the Forest Park Police Department; Officers James Svec, Jose Huerta and Detective Joseph Tripoli with the Chicago Police Department; Deputy Sheriff Joseph Tinoco with the Cook County Sheriff Department of Corrections; and K-9 Officer Jeffrey DelaCruz with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"Those we honor today are a few of so many who died because they believed in the greater good and wore the badge, though it was heavy, because it's what they were called to do," said keynote speaker Caitlyn Barren, CEO of the 100 Club of Illinois. "Whether facing crime or a world-altering virus, these men were beholden to their oath."
"In my 37 years, I will tell you I've never forgotten one officer that died," added Cook County Sheriff's Police Chief Leo Schmitz. "For some of them, I was there when they died. They were fellow officers, teammates, they were friends. When I say we never forget, we don't."
The Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County said plans are currently underway for a permanent memorial at Cermak Woods.
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