David Blake, Off-Duty Chicago Police Officer, Fatally Shot On Southwest Side

UPDATED STORY 7:57 a.m. 11/24/10

An off-duty Chicago police officer was found fatally shot in his vehicle on the Southwest Side Monday night.

According to a statement from the Chicago Police Department, David Blake, a 15-year veteran assigned to the SWAT team was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound about 6:30 p.m. Monday in the 2900 block of West Seipp.

Blake, 45, was found in his personal SUV, while initial reports indicated that his gun was missing, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that his gun and wallet were both with him in the vehicle--ruling out robbery as a motive.

A source told the Chicago Tribune that the shots came from inside the car, the windows of which were closed.

"Once again I stand before you announcing the death of a Chicago Police officer," Police Superintendent Jody Weis said at an early morning press conference. "It is very sad. This should not be happening."

According to the Sun-Times, an anonymous caller told police they heard eight shots fired around 6:30 p.m. and saw someone running from the officer's SUV. A motive in the slaying remains a mystery Wednesday morning.

The Sun-Times reports on Blake's accomplishments as an officer:

Blake received 84 awards, including 67 honorable mentions, one department commendation and other awards for courageous and distinguished service.

Blake also played for four seasons on the Chicago Police Enforcers football team, which competes with other teams across the country raising money for charity.

Weis told reporters that detectives were canvassing the area and trying to piece together exactly what happened Monday night, and urged anyone who had information about the shooting to call 312-745-8380.

The officer's death marks the fourth police killing this year.

WATCH Weis's news conference here:

Comments

[Artanis71]

09:03 AM on 11/28/2010

One feel good story about cops saving people in a burning building then another story about a slain officer. There are way to many officers being shot, this is insane.

[Mark S Allen]

02:05 AM on 11/25/2010

I live on this block and I was at the crime scene, but as a community activist, I do hear things from street sources and what is being discussed in the streets is not a pretty scenario. Most significant is that there are members of the gay community stating that this was a personal gay dispute that went bad, and that kind of reporting is against what was originally reported. The next public reports and its impact will be great and painful for a lot of people.

[Sondra KendricksJones]

09:48 PM on 11/25/2010

I heard something like that also.

[Oscar Nunez]

09:31 AM on 11/24/2010

Another cop shot dead in Chicago now how many is that? Where is the war the media keeps reporting in Afghanistan on the boarder with Mexico or right here in the streets of America.

[BushBites]

01:43 PM on 11/23/2010

There were big gang roundups last month and this month, stemming from an investigation over another cop getting shot in his car (along with his girlfriend) a year or two ago.

This looks like revenge to me.

[BushBites]

01:46 PM on 11/23/2010

This story from last week explains it all:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2902916,Gang-crackdown-111710.article

[BushBites]

01:50 PM on 11/23/2010

Argghhh...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/police-bust-traveling-vic_n_785537.html

[HankyJoe]

10:15 AM on 11/24/2010

I think you may be right.

[MMRDO]

01:24 PM on 11/23/2010

Don't slander the dead.

[Snarkyone]

12:30 PM on 11/23/2010

What do you expect when the rule of law no longer applies equally across the board? This is only the beginning as more people see what is happening around them.

[penndl]

12:23 PM on 11/23/2010

He may have been killed for his gun. Guns are considered a very valuable resource to those aspiring to be "Shot Callers" in Chicago.

[Chi--townfool]

12:36 PM on 11/23/2010

Uh no it's pretty easy and cheap to get a gun, a lot easier then killing a cop, u could get a gun for like $100! a gun will last for ever, there are guns out the street from the 70's still being used in crimes

[Jasel]

01:48 PM on 11/23/2010

It's really not that hard to get a gun in Chicago.

[Chi--townfool]

12:15 PM on 11/23/2010

This cop was obviously up to no good, why would the shooter be in the car with him? The cop was probably dirty why else would he be so close to someone who would shoot him and take his gun?

[MMRDO]

01:25 PM on 11/23/2010

Or he was getting out of his car. You have no facts on the case and you immediately jump to slander this guy.

[Chi--townfool]

01:39 PM on 11/23/2010

He was found sitting in the front seat with a burned out cigarette in his mouth, dude was sitting in his passenger seat...this particular article says the shots where fired from inside the car. I'm not a detective but I know how to detect but you sir, can barley retain what you read

[Jasel]

01:48 PM on 11/23/2010

That's kind of what I was thinking.

[Monk2001]

11:59 AM on 11/23/2010

sad

[cgeorgan]

10:10 AM on 11/23/2010

The Chicago Police Department needs to get a clue from the TSA in order to stop this maddness:

First of all, it needs to start randomly screening people on the streets.  'Grandma - hands up!  What do you have in your purse?"  Small children should be made to prove they aren't carrying a bomb or gun.  People should not be allowed to carry cell phones, water bottles, sticks, or anything that might be made into a weapon near police.

The last thing the police should do is perform any specifically targeted actions attempting to seek out those who tend to engage in this sort of thing.

[MoreThanRedOrBlue]

10:31 AM on 11/23/2010

That would be racial profiling. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

[MoreThanRedOrBlue]

10:07 AM on 11/23/2010

The city of Chicago is a disaster. The criminals have lost their fear of the police. And how can you blame them? If police officers try to do their jobs, they are often met with lawsuits or are reprimanded from within the department. Everyone walks around with kid gloves, afraid to do any real police work. When that happens, cops get killed. It's going to get worse before it gets better.

[ben616]

10:18 AM on 11/23/2010

Chicago Police should only blame themselves for the lack of respect they are given.
They have lost their right to be obey or respected long ago.
When you act as gang enforcers for years and only want to continue shenanigans don't be surprised when people view you as a criminals.
Many cities probably don't even have "bad" guys that compare with many police in Chicago.
There has never been a legal protocol for police work in that city.

[MoreThanRedOrBlue]

10:30 AM on 11/23/2010

Gang enforcers? What does that mean?

[audadvnc]

09:55 AM on 11/23/2010

Drug war casualty. Was he selling police confiscated dope back to his pals? We'll never know, will we...

[Dissident Dexter]

09:57 AM on 11/23/2010

I have a feeling we will. I know someone who fits that description, hope it's not him.