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ASHBURN — Drops of rain darkened scores of navy blue uniforms Monday as hundreds of police joined the family of slain officer Enrique Martinez to honor his life and legacy at his funeral.
A helicopter circled gray skies as officers carried a flag-draped casket into St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave. Photos of Martinez through the years moved slowly across a screen while “Here I Am, Lord,” by Dan Schutte echoed over the church’s speakers. The service was given in both English and Spanish.
Martinez, 26, was fatally shot while conducting a traffic stop Nov. 4 in Chatham. The officer was “just shy of three years” on the job, police Supt. Larry Snelling said. Martinez worked at the Gresham (6th) Police District.
Martinez’s colleagues lovingly called him “Quique,” describing him as “humble, crazy and goofy.” He loved to smoke cigars and could “eat an entire large Domino’s pizza” on his own, they said.
Martinez was “an exemplary human being,” Snelling said Monday. The police superintendent has received “an outpouring of condolences from everywhere across the country,” he said.
“You raised an amazing young man,” Snelling said, addressing the Martinez family. “I had the opportunity to talk to you, talk to your family, and I can tell it’s a close-knit family. And every day that you get up, you wake up, that you show up to work, that you put everything into it.”
Martinez is survived by his parents, Rosa and Adrian Sr.; siblings Angelica and Adrian; and his girlfriend of 10 years, Lesly, to whom he was planning to propose. As of Monday, a GoFundMe organized to support the Martinez family has raised over $62,000.
Local officials, including nearly a dozen alderpeople, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and Beatriz Ponce de León, deputy mayor for immigrant and refugee rights, attended Monday’s service.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced in a statement Saturday he would not attend the funeral after Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara, speaking on behalf of the Martinez family, said the mayor was not wanted at the services.
Martinez’s older brother, Adrian Martinez Garcia, is also a police officer. When Martinez joined the force, he was following in his big brother’s footsteps, Snelling said.
“You’ve been balancing this tragedy along with work,” Snelling said of Martinez’s brother. “I know this is a lot, but your shoulders are strong. You carried yourself well, and you’ve done your brother proud.”
Garcia was 5 years old when his parents asked him to choose a name for his younger brother, he said Monday. At the time, he was a fan of musician Enrique Iglesias, Garcia said to laughter.
The brothers were “inseparable,” Garcia said. When Martinez was a baby, Garcia often carried him to his room “so he [could] sleep by my side.”
“He was my baby brother — the most amazing person in the world to me,” Garcia said.
Martinez had an unparalleled love for animals, a passion for the outdoors and a unique, contagious laugh that “filled the halls in the 6th District, shedding light to everyone in his presence,” Garcia said.
On holidays like Mother’s Day, Martinez was “the most kind-hearted, selfless, generous person,” Garcia said.
Martinez “looked evil and terror in the face” on the night of his murder, but his sacrifice saved others, Garcia said.
“Every bullet that struck my brother could have taken the life of someone’s mother, father, sister, brother or friend,” Garcia said. “A part of us died that night. Because of my brother’s strength and courage, we are all able to see another day, embrace a loved one, create more memories and live without fear.”
Martinez and his partner had pulled over a car in Chatham when Martinez noticed the front-seat passenger grab for a bag near his feet. The passenger, 23-year-old Darion McMillian, pulled out a gun equipped with a fully automatic “switch” and opened fire, killing the car’s driver and Martinez, police said.
McMillian has been arrested in the case and charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, first-degree murder, attempted murder of a police officer, residential burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He was denied pre-trial release at his first court appearance Nov. 7.
Officers face danger “day in and day out,” but the goal is to keep them safe, Snelling said following Monday’s service, adding that the city needs to “do a better job” of holding repeat offenders accountable. Before the Nov. 4 shooting, McMillian served four years for a felony aggravated discharge of a firearm conviction and was released on July 17.
“We want to make sure that officer Enrique Martinez’s memory and what he sacrificed does not go in vain,” Snelling said. “We want to make sure that the loss of his life resonates with people, so that they can understand the true dangers that are out here in the street and what we’re trying to protect everyone from.”
Martinez might have been his younger brother, “but I will always look up to him,” Garcia said.
“My brother taught me that every moment is precious, and by living in the present, looking at life through lens without judgment, we choose and get the most out of every opportunity to come our way. This is how we enjoy our lives, but my brother did it the best.”
More photos from Officer Enrique Martinez’s funeral services:
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