It's only been a few days since off-duty Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston was shot dead near her Avalon Park home, so questions surrounding her murder remain unanswered.
Law enforcement sources said the Sun-Times Preston shooting may be linked to other robberies in the area, but authorities have not provided a formal motive.
There was also no explanation given as to why it took officers more than half an hour to arrive at the scene after the city's ShotSpotter fire surveillance system detected activity Saturday morning.
While the city awaits answers and possible charges related to the five people being held, one thing is clear: Chicago has lost another promising young officer because of the gun violence that has torn our nation and continues to cast a shadow over all of us.
Preston, 24, had just finished his shift when he was shot dead. His gun was taken from him during the incident, sources said.
Had he been alive, Preston would have submitted his diploma for his master's degree in criminology at Chicago's Loyola University next weekend.
District Officer Calumet is eager to make an impact and show his young peers how policing can make a difference in society, according to his father and Charles Bell, a professor at Illinois State University, where Preston received bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and law. enforcement administration.
Too often, we hear about the blue walls of silence when an officer is accused of wrongdoing and the fervent resistance from within the police department to changing the dysfunctional culture that has cultivated and sustained fear and mistrust.
Preston, who had been in the job for only three years, was not one of these skeptics and opponents. He is dissatisfied with the status quo and is ready for reform, people close to him say. Preston's goal was to build “trust between law enforcement and underrepresented communities,” he was quoted in an Illinois State piece after he and others visited several Holocaust sites during college visits abroad.
That journey, which Preston defines as “finding a voice for those without a voice,” motivated him to join the Chicago Police Department.
Now it's up to Preston's associates to honor his word, to work with Chicagoans — especially black and brown residents — not against them.
Not only did a family lose a loved one, the city of Preston lost an intelligent, wise, and accomplished officer who exemplifies the possibilities for changing CPD for the better.
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