Chicago City Wire

An 18-year-old suspect has been charged for the fatal shooting of a Chicago police officer.

"And the officer down, passed away yesterday," Chicago's Morning Answer co-host Dan Proft said during the March 2 show. "The honor guard congregating at Mt. Sinai Hospital early evening yesterday in tribute to that fallen officer."

Steven Montano faces charges of first-degree murder, felony aggravated unlawful use of a loaded weapon, felony discharge of a firearm, misdemeanor interfering with reporting domestic violence and misdemeanor assault; an ABC News report said.

"Every officer in this police department, and for that matter, every officer in this country, is grieving today," Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a press conference.

Brown would go on to resign from his position on March 16, a WTTW News report said.

On Wednesday, March 1, a woman called 911 and said that an individual was chasing her with a gun, ABC News reported. Chicago police officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso and another officer responded to the call and chased after Montano, who attempted to escape on foot. As the officers closed in on the suspect he opened fire, striking Vasquez-Lasso multiple times. The officers returned fire and struck Montano in the head.

Vasquez-Lasso died of his wounds at Mount Sinai Hospital. Montano is currently in the hospital and remains in critical condition. 

WTTW News reported that Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson appeared on “Chicago Tonight” to discuss his plans for addressing crime and law enforcement if elected. In searching for a replacement for Brown, Johnson said he would look for someone with local ties to the community who “understands the unique nature of the city of Chicago.” Johnson added that while he would prefer an officer from Chicago, he would be open to any candidate from across the country if they were the right fit. He also said he would promote 200 more detectives to the force and ensure that the Chicago Police Department would be reformed under the department's consent decree.

“We have placed too much pressure and responsibility on law enforcement to behave as social workers, counselors, marriage therapists,” Johnson told WTTW. “That’s not what law enforcement should be doing. I’m gonna make sure that law enforcement actually gets to do their job.” 

Johnson's opponent Paul Vallas said that he would work to reform current policies that he believes "handcuffs" officers and prevents them from effectively doing their job.

“It is really time to make criminal activity illegal again,” Vallas told WTTW. “It seems that people can simply commit crimes with impunity.”

At a separate forum in December, Vallas lamented the “utter breakdown of law and order.”

“The bottom line is—I’ve talked about it over and over again in columns, etc.—is to restore proactive policing and proactive policing that is consistent with the consent decree, and I’ve said that over and over and over again,"  Vallas stated.