As most of you know, several members of our squad are long time Chicago Firefighters, Police Officers and Paramedics. They have recently suffered a huge loss that you can read about below. Please follow the link at the end to read more on this article.

It disgusts me to the core that a man like this would have his life taken for seemingly no reason at all. His family, his friends and his co-workers have suffered a serious loss all because some worthless waste of a human being couldn't control herself.

My heart goes out to all that suffer from his loss. And I thank you all for the job you do.

Slain Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis in a recent photo with his dog. A 27-year veteran, Francis was shot and killed by a woman who grabbed his gun during a struggle near the Belmont District station Wednesday morning. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Police Department / July 2, 2008) When Chicago Police Officer Richard Francis got roughed up by a drunk a few weeks ago, injuring his back, his fellow officers told him to take it easy and ride out the rest of his year or two on medical leave before retiring. But soon, Francis, a 27-year veteran of the department known to many as "Buzz," was back at the Belmont District roll call. He told his brothers in blue that they would have to push him out. When he did finally leave, he would do so quietly. They would never know he retired—he would simply not be there one day. Early Wednesday morning, while on a seemingly routine assignment on patrol alone, Francis was shot and killed in a struggle with a woman who had caused a disturbance with a CTA bus passenger less than a block from his police station, police said. The woman, whom sources say sometimes slept at the police station and was often erratic and incoherent, shot him in the head with his service weapon before she was shot several times by responding officers at about 2 a.m. Francis died about an hour later in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The woman, 44, remained in critical condition Wednesday night. Read More...