Mourners remembered a slain Chicago Police commander Saturday as a model officer and ‘one of the good guys’ who was uninterested in self-promotion, even as he moved up the department’s ranks.
Of all of Commander Paul Bauer’s responsibilities, the ones that mattered the most to him were being a good husband to his wife, Erin, and good father to his daughter, Grace, several speakers said during his open casket funeral at the Nativity of Our Lord Church.
‘Erin and Grace were everything,’ said former First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante, who grew up with Bauer and served with him for most of Bauer’s 31 years on the force. Grace gave one of the first readings in the funeral mass.
Mourners honor fallen commander Paul Bauer, 53 at the Nativity of our Lord church
Police officers from around the country came to honor the man described at a ‘model cop’
His daughter Grace Bauer, 13, gave the first reading at her father’s funeral at the Nativity of Our Lord Church
It was a sea of blue as officers filled the pews at the Nativity of Our Lord church in Chicago
Bauer, 53, was gunned down Tuesday near a government building in downtown Chicago.
Authorities say he was in a patrol car nearby when he heard a call that a man had run away from tactical officers who had approached to question him about recent drug dealing and a shooting in the area.
They say Bauer spotted the man and chased him to an outer stairwell, where they struggled. Bauer was shot six times and was pronounced dead later that day at a hospital.
Prosecutors have charged Shomari Legghette, 44, with first-degree murder of a peace officer, armed violence, the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and possession of a controlled substance. Legghette, whose criminal record includes a conviction for armed robbery, is being held without bond.
The Rev. Dan Brandt, a Chicago Police chaplain, described Bauer as a man of faith who attended department Bible study sessions and sat in the front row with his family at Mass. Escalante said Bauer skipped his promotion ceremony when he became a captain because he had a family trip, and didn’t want to reschedule the ceremony because he didn’t need the public accolade.
Officers look at programs during the funeral service for Paul Bauer
Nativity of our Lord catholic church is pictured during the funeral for Commander Paul Bauer
Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson hugs Grace Bauer, left, while Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel hugs Erin Bauer during the funeral mass
Grace and Erin follow the casket out of the church, leading a procession of mourners
Escorted by a police officer, Grace and Erin Bauer leave the funeral mass
From left, Gov. Bruce Rauner, Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emmanuel wait for the casket to leave the service
A lone bagpiper leads the flag draped coffin of fallen Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson recalled Bauer taking time each day to practice English with a department custodian who was learning the language, and that he died doing what came naturally – helping other officers.
‘He was a model police officer, and one of the good guys,’ Johnson said.
Officers from across the U.S. joined other mourners, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Bruce Rauner and former Mayor Richard Daley, at the service. Gov. Rauner has ordered flags be flown at half-staff to honor Bauer.