Rosemary Sobol, Chicago Tribune –
Services are set for Thursday morning for slain Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis, who was fatally shot during a robbery Thursday night on the West Side.
A public wake for Lewis is scheduled for 10 a.m. at United Baptist Church, 4242 W. Roosevelt Rd., according to Steven Leak, of Leak and Sons Funeral Home. The funeral, also public, is scheduled for 11 a.m., Leak said. The burial will be private, Leak said.
Lewis, 41, an eight-year veteran assigned to the Austin District’s tactical team, was off-duty and working as a security guard at a convenience store when he was killed trying to break up a robbery at the MandM Quick Foods store Thursday in the Austin neighborhood.
Two men had walked into the store about 8:30 p.m. at 1201 N. Austin Blvd., shot the officer, and then grabbed his gun and fled, sources said.
Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Darryl Baety said today no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, a reward to find the killer has grown to $13,000 and no arrests have been made.
The Rev. Ira Acree said a group of community leaders and ministers pooled $2,000 into a reward fund for information that could help solve the killing.
“We were devastated and traumatized by this horrific murder,” Acree said. “We made an appeal to the residents to be forthcoming with leads. We told them, ‘Do not honor the code of silence.'”
Acree asked the public to make donations to the Officers Clifton Lewis Reward Fund at U.S. Bank. The money is in addition to $11,000 that the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and others have posted in the case.
Late last week, the Chicago Police Department asked for help in finding the men who shot and killed Lewis. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said authorities had “some significant leads,” including surveillance video that shows two people entering the MandM Quick Foods store in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. But he said they still need more help.
