Mourners Pay Tribute To Two Suburban Officers Who Died This Week
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It was a difficult day for law enforcement in the greater Chicago area on Saturday, as people lined procession routes to say goodbye to two police officers who died in the past week.
A funeral procession was held Saturday afternoon for McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Maness, who died Monday, a year after he was shot while responding to a domestic dispute in Holiday Hills. Blue ribbons and blue-star helium balloons were tied to trees along the route through rural McHenry County and the communities of Bull Valley, McHenry and Woodstock. Some of those who lined the route waved flags, while the children of one fellow officer hoisted hand-lettered signs that read, "Blue Lives Matter."
Brittany Kopulos knows better than most. Her husband worked alongside Maness. She said Maness was "a great man."
She said she has cried out of worry "every day for the past 2-1/2 weeks," since the murder of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz.
"For the past two-and-a-half weeks, I don't think I've gone a day without crying, worrying that my husband might be next; but this is his calling, so I stand with him. I stand with him. I stand behind him. He's a better person than me," she said.
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The search for a killer continues in the Gliniewicz case continues, but the man who shot Maness is already serving 135 years in prison for the crime. Prosecutors are trying to decide if they should seek additional charges or a resentencing.
Maness was one of hundreds of police officers who attended the Sept. 7 funeral for Gliniewicz, whom police say was killed while investigating three suspicious-looking men while on patrol. Maness appeared to be recovering from his wounds and was looking forward to returning to active duty when a blood clot in one of his lungs killed him suddenly Monday.
Anete McGehee, of rural McHenry County, said too many officers are being wounded or killed in the line of duty, and she said they don't get enough credit for what they do.
"It's sad, because a lot of people don't respect what's going on, and what they actually do for us. You know, they're out there breaking their backs to protect our families, and who's actually there for them? It's very sad, and it upsets me, and it upsets a lot of other people, too," she said.
Teacher Shannon Martin stood in front of her farm house with her husband, and said someone has to make sure the public remains safe, which is what she said Maness was doing when he was shot.
"We just, not too long ago, were practicing our lockdown drill with our police officers there on hand. How sad it is this day and age that this is a normality at our school," she said.
Gov. Bruce Rauner joined officers from across Illinois who took part in the 31-mile funeral procession.
Earlier, a funeral mass was held for Chicago Ridge Police Officer Steven Smith, who died in an off-duty crash on the Tri-State Tollway early Sunday.
His procession wound past his high school, his mother's home, and the Chicago Ridge police station.
