FOP president demands CPD change death designation of Chicago police officer who died of COVID-19

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, released a video on Monday saying the department is “playing games” with the current designation of Jose “Joey” Huerta’s death.

SHARE FOP president demands CPD change death designation of Chicago police officer who died of COVID-19
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, in a video on Monday calls on the Chicago Police Department to change Jose “Joey” Huerta’s death to a line-of-duty designation after he died from complications with COVID-19.

YouTube

The president of Chicago’s largest police union blasted the Chicago Police Department for failing to designate the death of an officer as “line of duty” after he died from COVID-19 just before Christmas.

Officer Jose “Joey” Huerta died on Dec. 23 due to an acute hypoxic respiratory failure caused by pneumonia and COVID-19. The Garfield Ridge resident was 50.

Huerta was a 21-year veteran of the department and began his career at the 4th District. Most recently he served in the Gang Investigations Division. During his tenure, he received 117 awards, according to a CPD spokesperson. 

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, released a video on Monday saying the department is “playing games” with the current designation of Huerta’s death.

“Joey died from COVID pneumonia, designate it a line-of-duty death and give him the full honors funeral he deserves,” Catanzara said in the video. “His name will be on a memorial wall because that’s where it deserves to be, and I’ll be damned if this department is going to give him anything less — and his wife and kids and brother and rest of their family and — any less treatment than the other officers got and deserved.”

The other officers Catanzara are referring to also died from complications with COVID-19 and were given line-of-duty designations.

On Wednesday, Catanzara said he couldn’t provide an update on the situation but Huerta’s designation hadn’t changed yet.

A CPD spokesperson said the classification of his death was still under review.

A line-of-duty death designation would grant Huerta’s family access to benefits such as receiving the officer’s salary for a year among other privileges that would need City Council approval.

Visitation for Huerta was held Tuesday at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W. 55th St. in Countryside. Burial is private.

The Latest
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century.
Doctors say looking at the April 8 eclipse without approved solar glasses — which are many times darker than sunglasses — can lead to retinal burns and can result in blind spots and permanent vision loss.
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.