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OAK PARK, Ill. - A candlelight vigil to honor Oak Park Police Detective Allan Reddins, who was fatally shot in the line of duty, will be held on Friday.
The vigil will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Village Hall courtyard.
Additionally, Reddins' visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11, with the funeral taking place the following day, Thursday, Dec. 12.
Detective Reddins, 40, was killed while responding to a report of an armed suspect leaving a bank.
Jerell Thomas, 37, of Chicago, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Reddins’ death. Thomas also faces charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, police said.
According to authorities, Reddins and other officers confronted Thomas a few blocks from the bank on Lake Street after receiving reports of a person with a gun. Thomas allegedly ignored their commands and opened fire, striking Reddins. The detective was transported to Loyola Medical Center, where he later died.
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Thomas, who was wounded in the leg during the incident, was treated at Loyola Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Reddins, who joined the Oak Park Police Department in 2019, is the first officer in the department to die in the line of duty since 1938.
The incident has reignited debates over Illinois’ approach to violent crime and sentencing laws. Cicero Town President Larry Dominick called for stricter penalties for those who harm or kill law enforcement officers, including the reinstatement of the death penalty, which Illinois abolished in 2011.
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"I believe that tougher mandatory punishments for injuring or killing a police officer will send a clear message to criminals that if they cross that line, they will face severe mandatory prison time and punishment and even the death sentence," Dominick said.
Dominick, a former police officer, proposed mandatory 20-year sentences for pointing a gun at an officer, 40 years for shooting an officer, and the death penalty for killing one. He pointed to Reddins' death and those of four Chicago police officers killed in the last two years as evidence of the increasing risks faced by law enforcement.
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is assisting in the ongoing investigation into Reddins’ death.
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