Hundreds Pay Respects To Slain CPD Ofcr. Huesca At Blake-Lamb

CHICAGO — Hundreds of Chicago police officers and neighborhood residents lined up Sunday afternoon outside of Blake-Lamb Funeral Home to pay their respects at the visitation for Officer Luis Huesca.

Huesca was two days away from his 31st birthday when was gunned down while in uniform near his home in Gage Park after finishing his shift on April 21.

Two officers sat on police horses outside the funeral home with the occasional visitor stopping to pat the horses, as a steady stream of visitors waited for their turn to enter building, including a man who carried a large cross. Chicago police officers, some in dress blues and others in their regular work uniforms embraced each other. Many attending the visitation wore commemorative buttons with the fallen officer’s face.

Gene Roy, the former chief of detectives with 35 years in the Chicago Police Department, said he was tired of attending wakes and funerals for police officers killed in the line of duty.

“Our hearts go out today to the family, the friends, the coworkers, and ultimately, the entire city,” Roy said. “Because when an officer falls in the line of duty, is murdered senselessly, it’s not just an attack on the officer, but an attack on the entire community we live in.”

Huesca’s funeral will take place Monday morning at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave., Chicago. The procession is expected to leave 9:15 a.m. from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home at 103rd Street and Cicero Avenue, heading east on 103rd Street to Western Avenue, when it will turn north on Western Avenue to St. Rita for a 10 a.m. funeral service.

The suspect, identified by police as Xavier L. Tate, Jr., is still at large, police said. A reward of $100,000 has been put up by Crimestoppers, the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Fraternal Order of Police for information leading to Tate’s arrest and conviction.