[green]Another tiresome Chicago politician gives a quote. They don't mention if the twice convicted felon had a valid FOID card.[/green]
[url]http://chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0108200214aug20.story?coll=chi%2Dnewslocal%2Dhed[/url]
A twice-convicted felon who was paroled from jail in Wisconsin a year ago was charged today with the weekend slaying of Chicago police Tactical Officer Eric Lee, police announced.
Aloysius Oliver, 26, who has previous convictions for felony narcotics and weapons violations, has been charged with first-degree murder of a police officer for the fatal shooting of Lee in a South Side alley, Deputy Chief Philip Cline said.
Lee, 37, was one of three tactical unit police officers riding in a car near 63rd and Aberdeen Streets at about 9:20 p.m. Sunday when they came upon at least two men beating a third man in an alley, police said.
After officers identified themselves as police officers, Oliver drew a .357 handgun and fired a single shot, striking Lee in the head, Cline said. Oliver then allegedly fled down a gangway, but was apprehended and disarmed by one of Lee’s partners.
Oliver’s gun discharged a second time while he was being taken into custody, but no one was hit, Cline said.
As the other man was being pursued down another gangway, he allegedly pointed a gun at one of Lee’s fellow tactical officers. The officer fired one shot, missing the man, according to Cline.
Police Sunday night were unable to apprehend the second man, despite an intensive search with K-9 units and the assistance of fire trucks to light the area.
Investigators this afternoon are questioning an individual in connection with the shooting, police said. It was not clear if that person was the man who ran away from the shooting scene.
Lee was taken to Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m., authorities said.
All three police officers were wearing bulletproof vests, Cline said.
A nine-year police veteran and former Marine, Lee had 20 police honorable mentions and was married and the father of a young daughter, Police Supt. Terry Hillard said at a news conference this morning in Chicago.
Lee is the second tactical officer killed in the line of duty this year. On June 30, Chicago Police Officer Brian T. Strouse, 33, was killed on an undercover stakeout in an alley in the Pilsen neighborhood, an area known for gang violence.
Calling on politicians to do more to control handguns, Hillard said, “These handguns were manufactured for one thing: to kill people.”
A Chicago man, Oliver is a gang member with a two-page rap sheet and a twice-convicted felon who was paroled last year authorities in Winnebago County, Wis., after a drug- and guns-related conviction, Cline said.
Word of Lee’s death caused the police to cancel a scheduled baseball game against a team from the New York Police Department. The charity game was to raise money for families of officers killed in the line of duty.