The city prepared to say its final goodbye to Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew, as visitation for the slain 10-year CPD veteran was held in Edgewater.
Visitation at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church began Thursday afternoon and stretched into the evening. One after another, police officers filed into the church. Some paused to talk, others adjusted their uniforms as they stepped inside to pay their respects.
The sound of police scanners feeding in and out played over the mid-afternoon wind, which eventually brought waves of light rain. Blue ribbon lined the trees and railing leading up to the church, where the Police Chaplains Ministry passed out prayer cards with Bartholomew’s picture, badge number and tenure with the department.
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God …,” the back read.
Before mourners gathered in prayer as the visitation drew to a close, police brass took a short procession outside. Supt. Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson walked at the front.
Shortly after, officers from the 17th and 24th districts, where Bartholomew had been assigned over his time with the department, followed suit. They formed a long line leading into the church’s double doors, trailing down the block as they waited to honor their colleague.
Bartholomew was shot and killed inside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital nearly two weeks ago while guarding a suspect. A second police officer, Nelson Crespo, was critically wounded in the same shooting.
At the prayer’s end, Snelling addressed reporters briefly across the street.
“We have a family in there that’s suffering,” he said, adding that the department was trying to provide loved ones whatever comfort they could. “You can feel the grief in the air.”
Former CPD Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., who was severely wounded in a 2021 shooting that killed his partner Officer Ella French, stood behind Snelling through his remarks. He didn’t speak.
Yanez has been present at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse for much of the initial proceedings against the man charged in the shooting, often flanked by a handful of Police Memorial Foundation advocates and other Chicago Police Department personnel.
As he spoke on the eve of Bartholomew’s funeral, Snelling also addressed Officer Crespo, who he said is “still trying to recover in the hospital.”
“That recovery is going to take quite some time,” Snelling said. “We’re also here for him, his family.”
Reflecting on the night’s visitation, Snelling said it’s been a difficult moment to come to terms with.
“This is someone that you’ve seen working, you’ve seen them in action, ” he said. “You talk to them, you’ve spoken to them. You’ve trained them, and now you see them for the very last time.”
Prosecutors have since charged 26-year-old Alphanso Talley with Bartholomew’s killing, alleging that he snuck a gun into the hospital following his arrest, concealed it beneath a blanket and shot the two officers when Bartholomew uncuffed him from his hospital bed. A judge has ordered Talley detained pending trial.
Funeral services will follow in the morning at St. Andrew’s at 10 a.m. The church is located at 5649 N. Sheridan Road.
Several city blocks were closed to accommodate the services Thursday afternoon.
In Springfield ahead of the visitation, hundreds of officers from different law enforcement agencies across Illinois gathered for the state’s annual police memorial ceremony. They converged around the memorial wall for fallen officers outside the state Capitol building.
Bartholomew was acknowledged by a few speakers, including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who said the officer’s grandfather was his priest growing up at St. Andrew’s.
“This year’s memorial event, it’s especially hard for me personally. Tonight, I’ll be at the service for John Bartholomew, a fellow Greek American, a member of our community,” Giannoulias told the crowd in front of the Capitol. “Someone who represents the very best of all of us, someone with a young family, someone who died while actually trying to help someone. And now his family will have to live without him. Please keep Officer Bartholomew and his family in your prayers.”
Afterward, Giannoulias said Bartholomew’s family is “a beloved family in our community.”
“As someone who’s, you know, got young kids, it hits home in a very real way,” said Giannoulias. “And I think it’s heartbreaking for the family, beloved by a community, beloved by everyone that I’ve talked to from the Chicago Police Department, so just a tragic day for everyone.”
Bartholomew had been with the Chicago Police Department since June 2015. A knack for public service was one of his defining qualities, friends and neighbors have told the Tribune.
He was “known for his generosity and willingness to give without hesitation” his obituary reads. “He found joy in life’s simple pleasures, including his love for good food, his admiration for Batman, and his unmistakable, contagious laugh that could light up any room.”
Tribune reporters Caroline Kubzansky and Sam Charles contributed.
