(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Mourners paid their respects and gave tribute at the funeral of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston, who was shot and killed on May 6 near her home in Avalon Park.
Among those speaking at Trinity United Church of Christ: newly retired Interim Police Supt. Eric Carter, who knew Aréanah Preston even before she was a police officer.
“And you may not know this about her, but she'd applied for the FBI. Her application got accepted and she was just waiting for her final interview when this tragic incident happened.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke:
“Aréanah knew that laying her life down, even for those who do not always value life - that is the exemplary example of righteousness.”
Preston was fatally wounded after she exchanged gunfire with a group of robbers who approached her as she returned home from work still wearing her police uniform.
Four teens were charged in the killing last week, which has been considered a line-of-duty death.
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot also attended Preston’s funeral. She said “we dream of raising Black girls who will change the world with their choices.”
“And Aréanah chose to change the world through wearing the badge and protecting and serving her beloved city,” Lightfoot said. “I will spend time making sure that my Black daughter understands there's a role model there of a life well lived.”
Officers from CPD’s Fifth District remembered Preston as someone who lit up the room when she walked in. One recounted a recent call.
“Three days before this happened, we had a call, and it was an overdose,” she said. “We walked in the door, and the lady was, you know, passed out. She brushed past me and she did a sternum chest rub. She was like, ‘Uh-huh, don’t nobody die on my watch.’”
Preston’s mother, Dionne Mhoon, told those gathered that her daughter was a “kid full of life, dreams, big goals and wanted to make major changes.”
“Death is only a tragic thing if you have not lived,” Mhoon said. “My baby lived.”
(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)
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