Local News

A Final Farewell For A Fallen Police Officer

Funeral For Officer Francis Today; Hundreds Came Out To Pay Respects At Wake On Sunday

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Family, friends and colleagues gathered with heavy hearts on Monday to mourn a fallen Chicago police officer, a man being remembered as a hero.

Officer Richard Francis spent 27 years in the department, but many gathering at his funeral Monday knew and admired him far longer than that.

Legions of Chicago police officers and their colleagues from across the state and across the country were at St. Monica's Church at 5136 N. Nottingham on Monday to pay their respects to Francis. Fellow officers carried his casket during a procession from the funeral home.

It was a tribute to a man who was devoted to his service as an officer.

A blue and white police wagon was part of the ceremony bringing Francis's body to the church. Francis worked the midnight shift driving one of those. 

Retired Belmont District Commander George Rosebrock said, "He was the quintessential wagon man. When the police need help they call a wagon. Rick and his partner were always there for you," Rosebrock said.

Many stood outside listening to the service on speakers in the parking lot. They heard one of the officers stepdaughters talk about him.

"When everyone was running away from danger, he was facing it head on," Amanda Kmic said. "Rick was a phenomenal husband, a standup dad, dedicated friend and the best darn police officer I ever knew."

His partner and a retired district commander said they struggled Monday morning to think of Francis' humorous personality and dedication instead of the tragic way he died.

"All night long, too," said Officer Norm Knutson. "It's just ... And how it happened. You know, I was off that night and it's, like I say he's going to be missed … and he loved his family. That's the biggest thing that's gonna hurt. He loved [his daughters] Amanda and Bianca and his wife Debbie. And our hats were off to him because he was a bachelor for 52 years." 

Rosebrock said, "I just retired and the fact that he was only a couple years from retirement hit me really hard. Because Rick was a family man and I always used to kid him a lot because he would always come home to his family."

Rosebrock wore a photo of Francis on his jacket. He said Francis was second in seniority at Belmont District, but chose to work midnights so that he could spend more time with his family.

"There are people here that Rick coached in Little League, that he grew up with and he's a good man. He was a very, very good man. And the city can't afford to lose good people like this," Rosebrock said.

Friends said the last thing they wanted was for any controversy to cloud this day, but his partner believed perhaps Francis would have survived Wednesday's tragedy if he'd had another officer in his squad car.

His former commander said having two officers isn't part of policy, but if the resources were available it couldn't hurt.

Mayor Richard M. Daley and Gov. Rod Blagojevich were just two of the dignitaries expected to attend the funeral service.
 
"There are evil people out there. There are evil people in every community, on a daily basis," Daley said. "So you need these men and women in uniform. If they would not be, there would be chaos."

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis also attended the wake Sunday.

On Sunday, scores of people lined up at the wake for Francis at Cooney Funeral Home at 3918 W. Irving Park Rd.

Friends described an incredibly somber mood inside the funeral home, as they came to remember a man who made family his top priority and loved his job.

"He was well liked and everybody really feels the pain of losing him," said friend Frank Kehoe.

Kehoe was Officer Richard Francis' former commander at the 19th District for three and a half years.

"He was just a steady guy," Kehoe said. "He worked midnights all the time because of family obligations and he did his job. He was just one of those people you could depend on."

Kehoe joined hundred of other well wishers who came to say a final farewell to officer Francis.

"He's been my hero since I saw him hit a home run at Welles Park when I was probably 3 years old," said Chicago firefighter Sean Casey. "I thought I was out of tears; I wasn't."

Hundreds of his fellow officers came to his wake to pay their respects – some waiting in line for an hour or more.

"There's so much violence in the city right now, it seems so ridiculous and now one of our own got killed, we have to come together, something has to be done," said officer Beatriz Irizamy.

"It's never easy to go to one of these things; I think the older you get the harder it gets and each day is each day, you just never know what's going to happen," said Chicago Det. Emily Bellomy.

Members of the Iron Justice Chicago Motorcycle Club came to pay their respects to the main who loved riding his motorcycle. The organization is made up of current and retired law enforcement officers.

Also among the mourners were Chicago firefighters, who joined the growing line to pay tribute to the officer, killed in the line of duty.

Flags at city and state facilities are flying at half-mast in honor of Francis. He'd received several commendations throughout his career as a police officer and for the time he served with the U.S. Navy.

Francis, 60, was on routine patrol early Wednesday morning when a CTA bus driver flagged him down near the Belmont Area Headquarters at Belmont and Western because a woman was harassing passengers on the bus. Francis got into a struggle with the woman, who grabbed his weapon and shot him several times.

Police said the woman also shot at other officers who came to Francis' aid and those officers shot back, critically wounding the woman. Robin Johnson, 45, was charged with first-degree murder, disarming a police officer and attempted murder.

Francis was the first Chicago police officer shot and killed while on-duty since 2002.

A Cook County judge denied Johnson bond Friday. Johnson remained hospitalized in stable condition Saturday night at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she is under police guard.

CBS 2's Mike Parker, Pamela Jones, Suzanne Le Mignot, and Dana Kozlov contributed to this report.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---