The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation is recognizing several officers for their bravery and determination in two recent high-profile cases, underscoring both the life-or-death emergencies and the painstaking investigations that define police work.
Among the honorees is Field Training Officer Larry Branch Jr., who confronted a nightmarish scene in Logan Square on July 4. Dispatched to handle a “person with a knife” call, Branch and fellow officers arrived in the 3600 block of West Palmer Street to see flames ripping through a home while a child screamed for help from a basement window. Nearby, 46-year-old Wendy Tolbert allegedly walked outside with a bloodied knife in her hand.
The officers forced their way inside the burning house, where they found two children suffering from stab wounds. Branch began speaking with one of the children and learned that a 4-year-old was still trapped inside.
“Branch started talking to one of these children and learned that there was [a] 4-year-old child still inside the residence,” the memorial foundation said. “Without regard for his own safety, Officer Branch smashed out a basement window and entered the inferno. He located the child and removed him from the building.”
Branch performed CPR on 4-year-old Jordan Walker until paramedics arrived. Despite his efforts, Jordan later died from multiple stab wounds. Prosecutors allege Tolbert attacked her children after claiming they were possessed. She is charged with murder, arson, and other felonies.
North Side serial assault case
The foundation also honored a team of officers in the Rogers Park District who identified, tracked, and arrested 19-year-old Tymarion Averhart, accused of sexually assaulting two women and committing residential burglaries in a string of crimes that started late last year.
According to the memorial foundation, the team spent weeks “conducting surveillance, processing evidence, reviewing videos, and establishing trust while interviewing victims and witnesses.”
Their work culminated on May 1, when they were monitoring Averhart and arrested him minutes after he committed another attack, according to prosecutors.
“The sense of invasion in these crimes is monumental,” the foundation said. “But through the strength of the victims and the persistence of investigators, a reign of terror has been stopped.”
Eight officers were recognized for their contributions: Sgt. Paul Sznura and Officers Maureen Boyle, Adam David, Michael Granadon, Matthew Skalski, Slawomir Skubaja, Cora Williams, and Arturo Delgado.
Among its primary missions, CPMFD provides support for officers and family members of officers who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.
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