Thomas
Wortham was a First Lieutenant in the Wisconsin National Guard. He had just returned from his second tour in
José
M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune
His
father, also named Thomas Wortham, was also a Chicago Police officer, a
sergeant. He still lived in the house his father-in-law had built and in
which he had raised his son. (The son
was Brother Rice Class of 1998; Jared Stanker
was Class of 2006.) The son had just
purchased a Yammy R1 and returned to his father’s home to show him.
They
had dinner. The father stood on his
porch to watch his son leave when a red Pontiac Grand Prix (first said to be
Nissan Maxima) stopped and four men jumped out.
They wanted to take that new bike.
The father heard his son loudly identify himself as a police
officer. Then the father saw his son
shot.
The
father ran inside and came out shooting.
He had a semi-auto in one hand and a revolver in the other. He killed one of his son’s murderers and
wounded another. The last two sped off, driving
over and dragging the son under the car.
They circled the block, looked back from the corner, and then wheeled
away.
Within
24 hours, all four were accounted
for:
1) Brian
Floyd, 20, of the 3700 block of
Inside her Wentworth
Gardens neighborhood apartment Thursday evening, Floyd's mother, Lucille,
tried to make sense of the death of her only son. Her son's cousin was on a
hospital ventilator in very critical condition with perhaps only days to live,
she said. The two cousins, the only boys
in their family, were as close as brothers, she said.
Floyd said the cousins went out Wednesday for a
night of drinking with two friends. She said it somehow changed into a game of dare over who would rob someone at gunpoint.
2) Another suspect who was shot
multiple times remained hospitalized as of 3:45 a.m. Friday in critical
condition and under police guard at
A second suspect, Floyd's cousin Marcus, was
critically injured.
3) A 20-year-old West Side man (
On McGee's Facebook page, police sources confirmed,
he identifies himself by the nickname "Payroll" and says, "I hav
no promlem wit pullin da trigger!!!!" He lists his interests as
basketball, dice and "robbin."
4) The fourth suspect, 29, was
arrested about 9 p.m. Thursday after police conducted a traffic
stop near the intersection of
That suspect was a passenger in a vehicle that went
through a red light and was picked up in a traffic stop near Jackson and South
Oakley boulevards at 9 p.m. Police said they were suspicious when the man tried
hiding in the car.
A police source said the driver purposely
drove through the light in order to attract police attention.
Since
both father and son were
Within
48 hours, Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor were charged
with First-Degree Murder. Marcus has
a choice: He can die soon or he can be
charged too. If it were up to me, Paris
and Toyious would also be given that choice.
But
before Thomas was buried, history
repeats…
Thomas
Wortham IV: Thank you
for your service as a soldier, as a cop and as a community organizer.
Thomas
Wortham III: Thank you
for your service as a sailor, as a cop and as a good father. And thank God you had your guns.
"WHEREAS,
on Wednesday, May 19, Chicago Police Department Officer Thomas Wortham IV was
the victim of an attempted robbery, during which he announced his office,
exchanged gunfire with the offenders, and was subsequently mortally wounded. He
was 30; and
"WHEREAS, Officer Wortham is the second officer from the Englewood
District killed in the last year; and
"WHEREAS, Officer Wortham had been on the force for three years, and had
recently returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq; and
"WHEREAS, Officer Wortham followed in the footsteps of his father, who is
also a military veteran and a retired Chicago police Sergeant; and
"WHEREAS, Officer Wortham, a graduate of Brother Rice High School, worked
to fight crime in the neighborhood he grew up in, both as a Police Officer and
as president of the Cole Park advisory council; and
"WHEREAS, Officer Wortham was a conscientious and professional officer who
will be remembered for the dedication and commitment to duty that he showed
throughout his career; and
"WHEREAS, funeral services for Officer Wortham, who is survived by his
parents, will be held on Friday, May 28:
"THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby
order all persons or entities governed by the Illinois Flag Display Act to fly
their flags at half-staff from sunrise on May 26, 2010 until sunset on May 28,
2010 in honor and remembrance of Officer Wortham, whose selfless service and
sacrifice is an inspiration."
From
the Trib,
describing the visitation Thursday:
Wortham's
casket was surrounded by flowers sent from police departments as far as New York
City. The officer wore his dress police uniform, his cap sitting on top of the
coffin. Inscribed in gold letters on his coffin's inner lid were words that
close friends and family members said the young patrolman lived by: "May
the work that I've done speak for itself."
Army
National Guard Spc. David Capps said his fear of ranking Army officers quickly
melted under Wortham's warm, joking personality and willingness to spend time
with soldiers.
"He'd
sit down and hang out with the enlisted (soldiers)," Capps said with tears
streaming down his face outside of the Leak & Sons Funeral Home on
The
Friday funeral:
I
stopped by the burial site on my way to the PGR staging location. The United States Army sent a detail of
rifles to honor First Lieutenant Wortham.
Except for a handful of cops,
And
yet, there they were.
They had
been practicing and they were ready.
I
went on to our staging area a few blocks away.
I was early, but so were others.
It is
a cavernous place and caters to policemen and firemen.
This
Marine is a police cadet.
He
and others were waiting outside the restaurant.
Four
busses would carry the Chicago Police trainees from the restaurant to the
funeral.
These
cops have not made their first patrol yet, but they are already attending a
line-of-duty funeral. Like soldiers,
they know what they are getting into.
And
yet they go forward anyway.
Same
for firemen. The 343 firefighter and
paramedics who died on 9/11 ran into those buildings after the planes had struck them.
Many
of our police, fire and paramedics came from our military. Many work their civilian jobs while
maintaining military readiness. Thomas
was a
So we
were there.
The
Police Cadets came out of the restaurant and walked toward the busses.
The
PGRiders assembled and were ready to move too.
Brenda
used Fred’s truck to address us.
About
390 AD the Roman Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus wrote, “Therefore, he who wishes
peace, should prepare war; he who desires victory, should carefully train his
soldiers; he who wants favorable results, should fight relying on skill, not on
chance."
This
24-year old, 2nd
Battalion Ranger has had five deployments and wears that thought on his
shirt.
The
modern French historian de Bourrienne writes that Napoleon Bonaparte cynically
recommended that “if you desire war, prepare for peace”.
Then
we moved.
Both the
United States Army and the Chicago Police Department brought many traditions to
the funeral – we would simply stand by our bikes with our flags near the
entrance to the cemetery. That was all.
And
that was fine. We don’t go to make the
family indebted to us and we don’t need to be thanked.
It is
we who wish to do the thanking.
This
mission included two pairs of father-and-son PGRiders.
The
9/11 memorial across the street from us was half-staffed.
A
“Turntable Ladder” truck prepared.
Policeman
and PGRider signaled “five minutes”.
And
then they started to pass in front of us.
First, the police motorcycle escort.
This was the last photo I took for a while.
And
it was quite a while. The interment was
“private” but the procession went on and on.
Police from
They
saw us. Some saluted; most smiled. Then we began to leave.
Another
TL truck had served as a flagpole at the cemetery entrance.
Now
we lowered the last flag and folded it.
And
we left Thomas to the company of at least one other hero at
back to ALL MISSIONS