Chicago man charged in fatal shooting of Oak Park detective

OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) — Charges have been filed against a Chicago man in the deadly shooting of an Oak Park detective, according to the village.

Jerell Thomas, 37, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the line-of-duty death of Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins. He was also charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, possession of a stolen firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

The shooting happened Friday morning while responding to a report of a man with a gun leaving a bank. The suspect, later identified as Thomas, also was shot by police and has been taken into custody.

Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said Detective Allan Reddins, 40, had been with the Oak Park Police Department since May 2019. He was the first Oak Park officer killed in the line of duty since 1938.    

“This is the worst day of any chief of police,” Johnson said. “Our police department, we’re hurting right now. I’m hurting. His family is hurting. Please keep us in your prayers.”

Around 9 a.m., Reddins responded to a call of a man with a gun leaving the Chase Bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street, according to Johnson. Reddins and other officers came across the suspect in the 800 block of Lake Street, and told the man to show them his hands.

The gunman brandished a handgun and shot Reddins in the left side. Officers returned fire, shooting the suspect in the leg.

Reddins was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m. The suspect also was being treated at Loyola.

The shooting caught people in Oak Park off guard and left bullet holes in the windows at the village’s main library, which was closed to the public after the shooting.

A witness said she was at the UPS store nearby when she heard someone storm out of a store and then heard what sounded like gunshots.

“I knew it was gunshots. I didn’t want to believe that,” she said. 

Nicholas Gradishar said he was walking to a friend’s house nearby when he heard gunshots.

“I get down after I hear the shots, and then I come to the library to see it littered with cops,” he said.

Gradishar said he saw police take the suspect into custody after he’d been shot.

“They were checking his pockets. They found a little handgun, but off to the side, there was an ARP with a flashlight. So I don’t know which one he used to shoot at the cops, but he had multiple guns on him,” he said.

Gradishar recorded footage of the suspect on the ground with a gun nearby. Moments later, parademics took him away on a stretcher.

“Nothing happens up here. You may find a fight or so, but nothing like this will ever happen here. So it’s wild,” he said.

A police procession took Reddins’ body from the hospital to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office Friday afternoon. Dozens of police officers and firefighters from Chicago, Oak Park, and other suburbs stood at attention and saluted as the ambulance arrived and Reddins’ body was escorted inside.  

Johnson said Reddins leaves behind a 19-year-old son, along with his mother and siblings. 

The chief described him as a “natural-born leader, devoted father,” saying she personally conducted Reddins’ background check before hiring him as an officer in 2019.

“I quickly identified that he had a talent that was needed here,” she said. “He closed substantial cases and helped us to resolve countless incidents. He was a natural,”

Before joining the Oak Park Police Department, Reddins also served with the Metra Police Department. He had been a detective in Oak Park since 2022.

“I thought he would make a phenomenal field training officer as well, and I was looking very much forward to him becoming a sergeant. He was just a natural leader,” Johnson said. “He would always take the extra step, go the extra step, and that’s huge, to say what else can be done?”

Johnson declined to say if the shooting was captured on video but said Oak Park officers are equipped with body cameras.

Thomas is considered a habitual criminal by investigators with a previous history of multiple arrests for aggravated battery to a police officer, domestic battery, battery, and resisting a police officer. His first court appearance on the murder charges has not yet been set, as he remained in the hospital on Saturday.

Information on Reddins’ funeral arrangements will be posted on the Oak Park village website once they have been made.

The Oak Park Police station was draped with black and purple bunting on Saturday, a memorial to the fallen officer installed after his death.