Police Supt. Garry McCarthy did more than stand by an officer shot in the line of duty last week in South Chicago.
He gave Del Pearson something the officer had been seeking out for years.
McCarthy tracked down the old police star that Officer Pearson's late father wore for 29 years as a Chicago cop, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Michael Sneed. Pearson told Sneed he was assigned to the same district as his dad, but the man died before Pearson graduated.
Turns out Person had looked for his dad's star for a decade. A source told Sneed the star had been assigned to other officers and couldn't be found. McCarthy got hold of it, though, and made it Pearson's active badge.
Pearson was seen with the star on his arm as he left Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn on Monday.
Pearson was chasing a suspect last Monday when he was shot in the upper body at about 10:45 p.m. in the 8400 block of South Kingston Avenue.
Police said the incident happened when several officers were investigating a possible curfew violation and a male suspect started running. Pearson chased the man into a yard, where the suspect opened fire, striking the officer.
A 20-year-old Chicago man, Paris Sadler, is being held in jail in connection with the shooting. Another man, Paris Fortune, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon. Fortune has prior felony convictions and was not allowed to own firearms.
