Sgt. Hector Silva #1760

On September 30, 2001, Sergeant Hector A. Silva was on duty participating in an in-service training physical agility test. After completing the test, Sergeant Silva felt dizzy and lightheaded, and complained of pain in his head. He was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain. Sergeant Silva died on October 2, 2001, as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. Sergeant Hector Silva was appointed to the Department on 30 July 1990, and was assigned to the 182.
______

Sgt. Sila's funeral was held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Chicago, IL
______

Sgt. Hector A. Silva, 36
Decorated police sergeant in Special Operations unit
October 05, 2001|By James Janega, Tribune staff reporter.

During a patrol on the North Side in 1997, Shakespeare District Tactical Officer Hector A. Silva spotted a man passing a handgun to a gang member and sprang into what would be the defining moment of his career.

As his partner arrested one man, Officer Silva chased the armed man into a back yard, up a flight of stairs and into an apartment where two elderly women were eating lunch. In the struggle that followed, the suspect was shot by the officer in self-defense.
The officer received the Chicago Police Department's highest award for bravery and was promoted to sergeant.
The 11-year veteran received 54 honorable mentions and three complimentary letters, said his brother, Eddie, also a police officer.
Sgt. Silva, 36, a member of the department's Special Operations Section, collapsed after a training exercise on the West Side last weekend. He died Tuesday, Oct. 2, after surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.
"He would not slow down. We used to kid him--we said `Hector, you're trying to save the world, and it's a big world,'" his brother said. "He was going to keep trying until he could."
Sgt. Silva was one of more than a dozen police officers in his extended family. He grew up in Lincoln Park, graduated from Gordon Tech High School and received an associate's degree from Triton College before joining the Police Department.
He worked on the North Side and in the narcotics section before joining special operations, which provides additional forces during critical events.
He had a competitive streak that came out at bowling alleys and golf courses, but otherwise always seemed to be on his way to keep a promise to help somebody, his brother said.

He also loved restoring cars, most recently a 1969 Oldsmobile he brought home in pieces. He was kidded for believing he could rebuilt it, but Sgt. Silva, his friends and a cousin stuck with the project all winter. Come spring, they drove it out of the garage in pristine condition, except for the milk crate Sgt. Silva had to use for a seat. "There was nothing he wouldn't try to do," his brother said.
Sgt. Silva had been an officer for seven years when he found himself tackling the armed gang member who managed to aim his pistol at Sgt. Silva's face.
"As the hammer fell, I jammed my hand into the mechanism, preventing it from firing," Sgt. Silva said as he received the Carter Harrison Medal. "They told us in the academy that in a worst-case scenario, that would work."
It allowed him time to fire his weapon, fatally wounding the gunman.
Because his father's life was saved by a donated kidney, Sgt. Silva wanted to be an organ donor. His heart was transplanted this week, his brother said.

"Even in his death, he's still helping people now," he said.
Sgt. Silva is survived by his wife, Victoria; daughters Antonia and Miranda; parents Anastacio and Carmen; and a sister, Chely Chevere.

_________

LAPA(Latin American Police Association) immortalizes Hector A. Silva through the annual presentation of this Award at our recognition banquet. It is presented to those who through the course of their duties have lived up to the spirit and values of LAPA, for which they have exhibited a selfless act of heroism in the line of duty.