# Officer Richard Francis, Chicago Police Department



## Inspector (Nov 13, 2006)

The Officer Down Memorial Page Remembers . . .





















 

















 Police Officer Richard Francis 
*Chicago Police Department
Illinois*
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Biographical Info
*Age:* 60
*Tour of Duty:* 27 years
*Badge Number:* Not available
Incident Details
*Cause of Death:* Gunfire
*Date of Incident:* Wednesday, July 2, 2008
*Weapon Used:* Officer's handgun
*Suspect Info:* Apprehended
Officer Richard Francis was shot and killed with his own service weapon while struggle with a female suspect. He had responded to a disturbance outside a police area headquarters building at Belmont Avenue and Western Avenue.

During the ensuing struggle the woman was able to gain control of his service weapon and fatally shot him. Other responding officers shot and wounded the woman when she pointed the gun at them as well.

Officer Francis had served with the Chicago Police Department for 27 years.


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## 193 (Sep 25, 2006)

A great man, A great husband, a great father, a fallen police officer. We are mourning in Chicago thanks for the thoughts my Mass. brothers and sisters - we need it out here - more violent than usual!! Stay safe and never take any call for granted...


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## PapaBear (Feb 23, 2008)

RIP Officer Francis! Your watch has ended and you now serve with St Michael to protect and watch over the brethren. Your dedication to the people of Chicago was demonstrated by your sacrifice. May God comfort your family and fellow officers at CPD.


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Chicago cops, firefighters honor fallen officer

By Maureen O'Donnell 
The Chicago Sun-Times

CHICAGO - They came from all over Chicago, Illinois and the country to honor slain Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis at his wake Sunday.
Grown men came out of respect for the football coach who taught them at Welles Park 32 years ago. On Coach Rick's team, everybody got to play, no matter their size.
Men and women who were once the boys and girls of Our Lady of Lourdes grammar school and St. Gregory High School came to remember the man they had loved since kindergarten -- 55 years ago.
Young rookies. Ponytailed and dreadlocked undercover officers. Black, white, yellow and brown, male and female, they came to honor an officer they dubbed "Top Shelf."
Francis, 60, died Wednesday on the job, in a tussle with a woman who shot him with his own gun. She is charged with first-degree murder and was shot by other officers responding to the scene.
When Francis' wake began at noon at Cooney Funeral Home, 3918 W. Irving Park, the line was already down the block. It never let up, as hundreds of officers came to pay their respects. Supt. Jody Weis entered Cooney in the evening. Some mourners said they saw Officer Jim Mullen stop by in his wheelchair. Mullen became a quadriplegic after a shooting on the job. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel also lined up with firefighters, state troopers and suburban police officers.
Francis' fellow officers remembered his barrel-chested laugh, his love for his wife, his family and his dog, and his devotion to the police force.
"I remember an adult saying, 'Why would you want to be a police officer?' " said Pat Gibbons, 43, of Lake Bluff, whom Francis coached at football when he was 12. "And he said, 'It's not about the money. I've always wanted to be a cop.' "
His fellow officers said there was none better. They have a saying: If people need help, they call the police. And if the police need help, they call the [police] wagon.
"He was an excellent wagon guy," said Officer Tim Melchiori. If officers need help, a "wagon guy" can secure troublemakers in his vehicle.
Inside the funeral home, Francis rested with his baton, white gloves and police hat at the foot of his casket, draped with the Chicago flag. His veteran flag -- from his tour in the Navy in Vietnam -- was folded inside his casket.
Pictures of Francis decorated the room along with a clipping about the Mighty Mites, the Little League baseball team he played on.
His childhood friend Andy Hill, of Fort Myers, Fla., recalled Francis' dapper dressing days in the early 1960s, with pants dubbed "Casinos" and footwear that a foreign-accented teacher dismissed as "Yeetle Yutes" -- Beatle boots.
"Rich never got a chance to retire," said his retired boss, Cmdr. George Rosebrock. "It makes you feel almost obligated to do something every day you enjoy. He didn't deserve this."
It seemed fitting that someone placed a small "Buzz Lightyear" figure inside the casket, a character whose catchphrase is "To Infinity and Beyond." Buzz was Francis' nickname.










Wire Service


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Slain Chicago Officer's Star Retired

*By Azam Ahmed, Tribune reporter
*_Chicago Tribune_

The widow of Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis and two stepdaughters strode arm-in-arm as an honor guard led them through a cortege of uniformed officers.
A solemn-faced crowd filled the police headquarters lobby as Francis' star was retired Tuesday in a somber ceremony made more poignant by the slaying of yet another officer over the weekend.
Francis, a 27-year veteran gunned down in July, is the 462nd Chicago police officer to be honored on the wall of fallen heroes.
"Officer Francis gave his life serving and protecting the life of our city," Mayor Richard Daley said. "Whenever a police officer dies in the line of duty, we all share the pain."
A pall hung in the air, one sharpened by the loss of Officer Nathaniel Taylor Jr., a 14-year veteran killed in the line of duty Sunday. Purple and black bunting was draped over two entrances to police headquarters.
"Another good cop has been abruptly taken from us," said Police Supt. Jody Weis. "Both have made the ultimate sacrifice, and both will be remembered as outstanding police officers."
Weis lifted his right arm and saluted as Francis' star was placed in the Superintendent's Honored Star Case.
For Francis' ceremony to come so soon after Taylor's death was a sad coincidence -- his rite had been planned for weeks -- and a grim reminder of the dangers faced by police every day.
Francis was on patrol alone when he was shot and killed in a struggle with a woman who had caused a disturbance near the Belmont District station, police have said.
Taylor was serving a search warrant in the 7900 block of South Clyde Avenue when a suspect opened fire, killing the narcotics officer.
After Tuesday's ceremony, several officers lingered and some even shared a few jokes. Still, the mood was downcast.
Rev. Thomas Nangle, Police Department chaplain, told a reporter that he notices a discouraged spirit among many officers. The old-timers, he said, are reminded of the 1970s when violence and public distrust of the police were both on the rise.
That can tough for a police officer to deal with on a normal day, he said, but in the wake of the two recent police killings, it can become overwhelming.
"The city literally can't exist for 24 hours without police," Nangle said. "And yet we disrespect them."

Story From: _Chicago Tribune_


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