Two charged with assaulting officers outside memorial service

Two charged with assaulting officers outside memorial service
Michael Fitzgerald, inset left, and Demarco Hunter are seen with a video image of one of the injured officers. (Chicago Police Department, Chicago contrarian)

CHICAGO – Two men will appear in court later today to face charges of physically attacking Chicago police officers outside a West Side memorial service this weekend.

Viral videos began circulating shortly after the attack began Saturday afternoon in the 4300 block of West Madison. Police officers stated that an altercation between gangs began during a “gang funeral,” but officials have not publicly stated why officers were assigned to the location.

What exactly led to the physical altercation has not yet been made public, but could be revealed when the two men appear in court.

CPD dispatchers declared a “10-1” police emergency at 12:24 p.m., bringing in backup resources from surrounding city areas.

“4334 West Madison, a 10-1,” a coordinator announced. “I have an officer on the scene asking for more cars… We have a large crowd on the scene… we have officers shouting 10-1.”

“I need more cars ASAP… Gang fighting in the church after a gang funeral,” she announced.

Overnight, CPD announced that Demarco Hunter, 25, and Michael Fitzgerald, 37, have each been charged with misdemeanor battery on a peace officer. Fitzgerald also faced four misdemeanor charges of resisting.

One video tweeted by Chicago Contrarian showed an officer with blood streaming down his forehead and nose.

“Jesus Christ!” The man who records things shouts. “They jumped on the police!”

CWBChicago was founded in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had become discouraged by the inaccurate information presented during local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has since expanded to Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown and other North Side areas. But our mission remains unchanged: to provide original public safety reporting with better context and more detail than mainstream media. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com

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