In the early morning of April 21, Chicago police officer Luis M. Huesca was driving home after his shift at the 5th District when he was carjacked. Xavier Tate, the alleged shooter, pumped 10 shots into Officer Huesca and left him to bleed out.
The police caught up with the alleged shooter 10 days later. In the intervening days, an unseemly drama played out regarding attendance at Huesca's funeral.
“The vile nature of this crime and its devastating impact on our family and the community demand uncompromising pursuit of justice,” Huesca’s family said.
“While no measure of justice can bring Officer Huesca back or fully heal our hearts, we take solace in his enduring legacy of service and bravery.”
The family publicly requested that both Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson not attend Huesca's funeral.
State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, whose brother is a police officer, approached the mother of the slain officer hoping to change her mind.
“The mom was crying. She said they didn’t want the mayor to attend because they don’t think he supports the police,” according to Mendoza's spokesperson.
State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (D-Chicago) was with Mendoza when she talked to the grieving mother. She confirms what Mrs. Huesca said. Mendoza says she called Johnson with the news that he wasn't welcome and he hung up without a word.
Naturally, the press was eager to hear from Johnson about his feelings at being rejected by the family of the slain officer. The mayor attended a National Day of Prayer Service on Thursday. When reporters tried to get a word about the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Officer Huesca and the controversy over his non-attendance at the funeral, he took off like a scared rabbit.
“Mr. Mayor, why do you have to run from us?” NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern shouted, as Johnson was seen scrambling amid a flock of suited aides before jumping into a black SUV.
“Mayor, we just want a comment last night about the arrest last night in relation to Officer Huesca,” CBS Chicago’s Darius Johnson said.
Veteran Chicago political analyst John Kass wrote he had never "seen anything so despicable in Chicago politics" as Johnson trying to pressure a grieving family by sending heavy-hitting politicians to pressure the mother to invite him.
"If there’s anything lower than that, it’s running away like a whipped dog when you get caught," Kass wrote.
He has a coward’s built-in excuse though, he might say Huesca’s mother didn’t understand the bad Spanish of his police officials and aides who initially tried to intimidate her by insisting he had to attend her son’s funeral, that it was mandatory. That it was all lost in translation. He’s craven enough, with his panic attacks, to try it. And he’ll always play the race card if it doesn’t work.
“At one point, there was an implication that the honors funeral is tied to the mayor’s attendance,” the Sun Times quoted John Catanzara, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police. “That was the guilt trip that we’re laying on this family.”
Kass calls Johnson "a complete embarrassment to his city, the police force, and the people he pretends to represent." This isn't the first time that Johnson has run from responsibility. As the migrant crisis unfolded, Johnson kept blaming Governor J.B. Pritzker, his aides, and the Republicans for the chaos his incompetence had let loose upon the city.
The real fear now being whispered in city hall is that Johnson will freeze this summer when the protests blow up the city during the Democratic convention.
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