P.O. John Knight #5119

Officer John C. Knight was shot and killed as he and his partner were investigating two suspicious individuals in a parked vehicle. Both officers noticed the vehicle with a popped trunk and two occupants slumped over on the inside. As they approached the vehicle, the men sped off and a short chase ensued.

The vehicle crashed into a parked car at 99th and South Parnell. The occupants then opened fire on the officers. Officer Knight was struck twice in the head and once in the abdomen before he was able to exit the passenger side of the vehicle. His partner exited the vehicle and returned fire, striking one of the assailants.

As the second officer went to check on Officer Knight, the wounded gunman reloaded his weapon, returned to the scene and opened fire, wounding the second officer in the hip.

That gunman was later found and arrested after officers traced a blood trail in the snow. The handgun used was a Ruger 9 mm semiautomatic with a laser sight.

On January 27, 2004, Officer Knight's killer was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was also charged and found guilty of attempt first-degree murder of the second officer.

On January 28, 2004, during the penalty phase of the trial, a plea agreement was reached. The defendant pled guilty to an unrelated murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. He also waived his right to appeal his conviction in the Officer Knight's case.

Officer Knight was a 10 year veteran of the department. He is survived by his wife, three children, two brothers, sister, and parents; his father was also a Chicago police officer.
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Officer Knight is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery

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2 Departments Cite Their Heroes For Acts Of Valor
May 05, 1999|By Terry Wilson and Andrew Martin, Tribune Staff Writers.

Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard on Tuesday awarded three of the department's highest honors posthumously to two officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Earlier in the day, Fire Department officials held a similar event to honor two firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.

At the Chicago Police Department's 38th Annual Recognition Ceremony at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Hillard announced that slain Officers John C. Knight and Michael A. Ceriale were chosen to receive the Police Medal, the department's highest honor that recognizes outstanding accomplishments.

The Superintendent's Award of Valor, for heroism, courage and devotion to duty, and the Police Blue Star Award, which is given to officers who have been seriously wounded in the line of duty, were also presented in the names of the two officers.

Knight, an officer with the Morgan Park Police Tactical Unit, was fatally shot Jan. 9.

His partner, Officer James Butler, seriously injured the assailant and also was wounded in an ensuing exchange of gunfire. Butler also was given the Award of Valor and the Police Blue Star Award.

Ceriale, a Wentworth Police District officer, was mortally wounded by gunfire on Aug. 15, 1998. He died six days later.

Awards of Valor also were presented to Officer Jerome Finnigan, of the special operations section; Officers David Considine, Raymond Hamilton, Charles S. Jones and Brian Allen, of the Gresham District; Sgt. Eldon Urbikas, of the Deering District; John Kohles, a gang crimes specialist; Officer David L. Harris, of the gang crimes section; Officer Ricky A. Bean, of the South Chicago District; and Detective John Hamilton, of the Calumet Area Detective Division.
Earlier, at a ceremony in front of a vacant lot that was once the Beverly Tire Store in the Beverly neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side, Mayor Richard Daley unveiled a sidewalk plaque that memorializes Chicago Firefighters Patrick J. King and Anthony Lockhart, who were killed in a blaze at the store on Feb. 12, 1998.

Surrounded by family members and Fire Department brass, Daley expressed his condolences for the loss of the firefighters who sacrificed their lives.
King's widow, Gina King, said she is pleased by the plaque and believes it will remind passersby that her husband and Lockhart "were doing their job."
"It's not going to bring him back," she said, adding, "I think it's a nice gesture."