Mayor Brandon Johnson said Friday he would attend the funeral of a slain police officer despite protests from the police union president who said he would not be welcome.
The family of CPD Officer Enrique Martinez, who was shot and killed Monday during a traffic stop in Chatham, has not directly commented on their wishes. but Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara and a state representative from the Southwest Side blasted the mayor, saying his presence would be disrespectful.
In a statement, Johnson spokeswoman Erin Connelly said Johnson attends all honorary funerals for first responders killed in the line of duty, saying “our prayers and deepest sympathies are with the family Martinez and to Officer Martinez’s beloved fiancé.”
“Mayor Johnson will attend the honorary funeral and celebration of life for Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez,” Connelly wrote. “These formal honor services are solemn times to honor the sacrifice of our officers and first responders. It is an honor for the Mayor to support officers across the Chicago Police Department, especially in times of loss.
The controversy reflects the polarized political environment in Chicago in which the progressive mayor has been criticized for law enforcement issues and has frequently clashed with Catanzara.
In a YouTube video posted Monday, the head of the police union said Johnson was not welcome and would be “trash” if he attended.
“Both Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker have been informed that the family wishes not to attend these services,” Catanzara said. “Governor Pritzker immediately rightfully recognized this and said he would not show up and honor the wishes of this family. Mayor Johnson did not.
George Barzydlo, a family friend who lived nearby, said those feelings were true. The 65-year-old spoke on behalf of Martinez’s family and fiancée at a news conference Friday evening outside Chicago Lawn Police District headquarters, asking Johnson not to attend the funeral.
“They definitely don’t want the mayor to attend any of the functions,” he said, adding that his presence would be a distraction.
Barzydlo said he and Martinez had a joking relationship. Barzydlo was walking his elderly mother around the block and he met Martinez and his fiancée.
“We were walking around the alley and Enrique was saying to my mom, ‘Hey, are you OK with this guy?'” Barzydlo said. “And I was like, ‘Hey, are you okay with this guy?'”
Martinez would help his father in what Barzydlo described as a taco business on his days off — tedious work and cleanup, he recalled.
State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar said the Martinez family asked her to tell Pritzker and Johnson they were not wanted at the funeral. While Pritzker’s chief of staff agreed to the request “without hesitation,” Guerrero-Guellar said Johnson’s chief of staff, Christina Pacione-Zayas, “disrespectfully and rudely failed to understand the message that I ‘was trying to convey’.
She called Johnson and left him a text message, but had not heard back Friday evening, she said.
“It’s not about the mayor,” she said. “It’s about the family’s wishes. The mayor, in my opinion, speaks for himself.
Earlier this year, Johnson was also warned to stay away from the funeral of another slain CPD officer and ultimately did not attend, according to Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
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