Two More Suspects In Death Of Officer In Custody

By Marcus Gilmer in News on May 21, 2010 2:00PM

As almost two hundred people gathered to mourn the death of Chicago Police officer Thomas Wortham IV, police announced two more suspects in his shooting death are now in custody. One suspect turned himself in to police yesterday afternoon while another was apprehended last night during a traffic stop. Police say the men were part of a group of four, originally reported as three, that tried to rob Wortham of his motorcycle on Wednesday night as he was leaving his parents' Chatham house. During the incident, Wortham's father came to his aid and gunfire was exchanged; one suspect was killed while another was critically wounded, though police are still sorting exactly who shot who.

At his press conference yesterday afternoon, Mayor Daley said of Wortham, who had just returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq, "We think of him not only serving our city, but our country. All of our hearts were saddened, and we'll pray for his family and pray for all members of the Chicago Police Department." Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) reacted with disbelief, saying, "You go to Iraq. It's a war zone. You come back to a community you've been safe in all of your life and lose your life? It's just unfathomable."

Wortham, who was off-duty at the time of his death, is the sixth Chicago Police officer to be killed in the last two years: Richard Francis, Robert Soto, Nathaniel Taylor Jr., Alejandro "Alex" Valadez, and Sgt. Alan Haymaker. Two more officers, Michael Robbins and Detective Joseph M. Airhart Jr., have died in that same time period from complications due to earlier incidents.