Community mourns officer

Services for CPD Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso were held March 9, with his hearse proceeding from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn to St. Rita High School’s Shrine Chapel.

The procession traveled on 103rd Street and Western Avenue, and supporters silently paid their respects along those major thoroughfares.

“Whenever this happens, it affects all of us,” said Tara Hinds, a Beverly resident whose husband is a CPD detective. She joined her young son, Tayden, near 99th Street and Western. “You can’t help but think—what if it was your family? And it goes through your neighborhood. We spent our week talking about what if it was my dad? And so, we come out because it’s a small thing we can do to show support and respect for that family.”

Police vehicles blocked off the street as the procession passed by, with some holding up signs in support of Vasquez Lasso and others holding an American flag featuring a thin blue line, a show of support for police throughout the nation.

Lasso, 32, lived in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, and he worked in the 8th District, which is in Chicago Lawn.

Like other officers who have died in the line of duty in recent years, his services were held in the area.

In December 2018, Blake-Lamb, 4727 W. 103rd St., handled the services for officers Conrad Gary, of Mt. Greenwood, and Eduardo Marmolejo, of Beverly.

Their services were also held at St. Rita, 7740 S. Western Ave.

Hinds said she spoke with her son about whether he wanted to watch the procession. He did, and they went.

They gathered with a handful of other people, one who wanted to pay respects for Vasquez Lasso and this “awful story.”

“Every time, it seems like it’s always at Blake-Lamb and comes through our neighborhood,” Hinds said. “You can’t help but see it. It’s right in your face, and your kids are talking about it.”

Vasquez Lasso was killed on March 1 while responding to a domestic incident in the Gage Park neighborhood. Just a few weeks short of his fifth anniversary with the CPD, he was pursuing an armed suspect when he was shot at close range.

Steven Montano, 18, has been charged with first-degree murder. That night, a moment of silence was held at St. Rita before the school’s basketball team faced Br. Rice in a state playoff game.

Signs honoring Vasquez Lasso were distributed by 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea, and a vigil honoring the officer was held March 4 at Mt. Greenwood Park.

At his funeral, Vasquez Lasso was remembered as a gentleman with big goals. He came to the U.S. from Colombia when he 18 and joined the CPD when he was 27.

He met his wife, Milena Estepa, who was also from Colombia, in April 2019.

With the CPD, Vasquez Lasso earned four honorable-mention awards, three physical-fitness awards and an attendance-recognition honor.

Bryan Spreyne, CPD 8th District commander, said Vasquez Lasso “personified the American Dream.”

His death hurts, Spreyne said, because someone like Vasquez Lasso was supposed to have “a long and storied career.”

“He was well on his way,” Spreyne said. “He once wrote that he might not change the world, but he knew he could change the world of every person through his actions. That was Andres.”

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation (CPMF), as it always does when an officer dies in the line of duty, presented an $80,000 check to the officer’s family to assist with any expenses.

In a news release, CPMF Executive Director Phil Cline mourned “the senseless and tragic loss.”

“To see an enthusiastic, optimistic young man embarking on a rewarding career in public service gunned down in broad daylight by a gun-wielding offender fleeing the police is an assault on all the things we value as a community,” Cline said. “We stand with Andres’ wife and family, his colleagues and his friends as they grieve this tragic loss. We will honor Andres’ legacy as we honor all the lives of our fallen heroes, by ensuring that the sacrifice he and his family made today is always remembered, respected and revered.”