Chicago Police captain dies after being found unconscious in squad car

A captain in the Chicago Police Calumet District died early Sunday after he was found unconscious in his squad car on the Bishop Ford Freeway on the Far South Side, police said.

Capt. James Lavoy, 50, was found in his police vehicle about 12:10 a.m. on I-94 near the Stony Island feeder ramp, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The father of two was taken to Trinity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:06 a.m., authorities said.

There were no signs of trauma, and he may have suffered a “cardiac event,” police said. An autopsy Sunday did not rule on Lavoy’s cause and manner of death, pending further studies.

Detectives were conducting a death investigation. Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told reporters later Sunday “there is no sign of foul play.” The superintendent then choked up while discussing Lavoy’s death.

“Part of Chicago was lost last night,” Johnson said. “But a much greater part will live on because of his service to our city.”

In a statement issued Sunday evening, Mayor Rahm Emanuel mourned Lavoy’s death, offering sympathies to his surviving wife, two children and Chicago Police colleagues.

“Over the nearly three decades he served our city, Capt. Lavoy received more than 65 recommendations, awards and honorable mentions,” Emanuel said in the statement. “Yet the true testament of Capt. Lavoy’s duty and dedication is the countless number of colleagues and Chicagoans he impacted and inspired.”