​Police Are ‘Never Off-Duty,’ Officer Who Saved Senior Citizen Writes

Chicago, IL - The off-duty police officer who helped capture two people in connection with a Sunday mugging of a senior citizen in Lake View penned a powerful letter shared by the Chicago Police Department on Facebook the next day.

Officer John Pham, who was not named by the department in the post but by DNAinfo Chicago in an article, received much praise for his quick actions.

“Thank you for what you do day in and day out....while on duty as well as when you are "off duty". God bless you and your family!” wrote Donna Ruiz.

Pham described the situation on Barry Street as one that forced him to switch from “being an everyday ordinary citizen walking to get food” to “a Police Officer running to the sound of someone screaming desperate for help.”

He said he witnessed someone “carelessly and aggressively striking an elderly man in the head with a gun multiple times.”

Two men, David S. Shabazz, 20, of the 5400 block of S. Aberdeen and Juwon Askew, 18, of the 200 block of W. Garfield, were charged with the crime.

“The police in Chicago do not get the respect they deserve,” Lawrence Clark wrote. “There (sic) job is very hard because of lack of respect.”

Pham said the weekend incident is an example of how police officers put their own lives at risk, not just when they are on-duty, but wherever they may be.

“That's why it is important to bring attention to Ordinance 4878,” he wrote, referring to the “Blue Lives Matter” proposal brought up by city aldermen. “This ordinance protects first responders from criminals who carelessly and viciously injuring us everyday. We are there for the public and we need the public to be there for us.”

“Being a police officer, you are never ‘off-duty,’ and always try to do the right thing whether we are working or not because the community in which we live in and serve depends on us.”