14-Feb-19 – A year and 200 feet from where he was killed, 18th district police commander Paul Bauer was honored at a brief but well-attended memorial on Wednesday.

Bauer’s family, city and state officials, candidates for mayor, first responders, and former Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy gathered at James R. Thompson Center in the Loop to hear words of comfort from two police chaplains.

Five of CPD’s six chaplains attended the memorial, along with 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, Cook County Commissioner John Daley, and his brother, former White House chief of staff and Chicago mayoral candidate Bill Daley.

Bauer was on his way to meet with Hopkins and Reilly at City Hall on February 13, 2018, when he heard on police radio that a man officers were trying to question near State Street & Wacker Drive had run away. Bauer caught up with the man in front of Thompson Center, about four blocks southwest. There was a physical confrontation in an outdoor staircase and Bauer was shot six times. He died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

(Left) 18th District Police Commander Paul Bauer speaks at a Town Hall meeting of Streeterville Organization of Active Residents on April 3, 2017. Photo by Sarah Matheson.

Shomari Legghette was charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial. Bauer was 53 years old and had served with CPD for 32 years.

“He did not give his life – it was taken from us by a four-time convicted felon,” said Father Dan Brandt, director of Police Chaplain’s Ministry.

“We are interwoven through the tapestry of life and by the circumstances of this day,” said police chaplain Kimberly Lewis-Davis. “We are connected by a tragic moment. A moment that took from us the life of Commander Paul Bauer – a beloved friend, family man, and dedicated father.”

(Right) Police chaplain Kimberly Lewis-Davis speaks at a memorial for Paul Bauer. Chaplain Joe Jackson at left. At right, chaplains Hysni Selenica and Bob Montelongo.

About 200 people attended the 15-minute ceremony, filling the lower level of Thompson Center and overlooking from an upper level.