Chicago Heights police officer dies after collapsing on duty

The City of Chicago Heights is mourning the loss of a police officer who died Friday morning, days after collapsing while responding to a domestic call.

Officer Gary Hibbs, a 25-year department veteran, died in the intensive care unit at Franciscan Health in Olympia Fields, according to a statement from Mayor David Gonzalez and police Chief Thomas Rogers.

The afternoon of March 4, Hibbs answered a disturbance call of two people fighting inside a third-floor apartment on 14th Place, according to the statement. While trying to arrest one of the people involved, Hibbs fell to the ground unconscious and required medical assistance.

“The Chicago Heights Police Department has suffered an irreplaceable loss in Officer Hibbs’ passing,” Rogers said in the statement. “Officer Hibbs set the gold standard ... as both a police professional and as a friend to us all in the department. My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”

Gonzalez said Hibbs was committed to his professional life and inspired Hibbs’ son Jimmy to become an officer at the department over five years ago.

“Officer Hibbs’ passing is a grievous loss to both his family and to our city, and my heartfelt condolences are with his family at this moment,” Gonzalez said.