Bauer's Accused Killer Says He's Like Trayvon Martin In Interview

The convicted felon accused of fatally shooting Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer in February likened himself to Trayvon Martin during an interview with Chicago magazine, wondering if the slain Florida teen would "have been guilty with George Zimmerman if it had went the other way." In March, a grand jury indicted Shomari Legghette, 44, on 56 felony counts stemming from the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Bauer, 53, was shot multiple times Feb. 13, while trying to help police tactical officers apprehend Legghette, who they wanted to question while seeing him act suspiciously during a narcotics sweep near the Thompson Center, according to police. Officers recovered a 9mm semiautomatic weapon with a 30-round extended clip, as well as cocaine, heroin and marijuana, from Legghette, who also allegedly was wearing body armor at the time, police said.

During 16 jailhouse interviews that spanned nearly four hours with the magazine, Legghette wouldn't admit why he was wearing body armor, but he said it was necessary to stay safe.

"If you’re in the streets, you gotta secure yourself," he told Chicago magazine. "The police have on body armor. Why is it that the police can wear body armor and the citizens can’t? Why is that unlawful when it’s people out here getting murdered? I live in constant fear, because I’ve seen a lot. … I’ve been shot at by a lot of people."

RELATED: Cmdr. Paul Bauer's Accused Killer Indicted On 56 Counts

Marcus Perkins, Legghette's close friend, told the magazine the two spent the day before the shooting together, talking and watching TV.

"His spirits were good," Perkins said. "It was just the life he was living that made him have to have that bulletproof vest on, to have that gun on him. It stressed him out. And me, for one, it freaked me out, so I would make him leave that stuff at home."

In comparing himself to Martin, the 17-year-old unarmed boy who was fatally shot by Zimmerman in 2012, Legghette said he did so because he isn't guilty in the Bauer shooting. In the Martin shooting, Zimmerman was acquitted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.

More Patch Coverage

The Shooting

• Chicago Police Commander Gunned Down At Thompson Center (VIDEO)
• 4-Time Felon Charged With Murder (VIDEO)
• No Bail For Career Criminal Accused In Bauer's Fatal Shooting

Bauer's Career

• Cmdr. Paul Bauer: Learn How Slain Cop Spent 31-Year CPD Career
• Fallen Commander Worked In District 22 In Mid-1990s

The Funeral

• Bauer's Wake Draws Thousands Of Mourners (VIDEO)
• Thousands Line Streets To Give Bauer Incredible Sendoff (VIDEO)

The Aftermath

• Blue Ribbons And Flags Honor Bauer
• 'Chicago PD' Filming Near Slain Cop's Murder Scene Angers Some
• Cook County Jail Inmates Clap For Accused Killer (VIDEO)
• Slain Cop's Widow Thanks Chicago For Restoring Faith In Humanity
• Support Continues For Bauer's Family, CPD (VIDEO)

Erin Bauer, the commander's widow, told Chicago magazine that Paul Bauer had planned to retire in November 2019 at the 55. The couple planned to spend time in Florida and Idaho once their teen daughter, Grace, went away to college.

"I finally got him watching 'Game of Thrones'," she told the magazine. "I’m sad that he’s not going to be with me to watch the final season."

As for why Paul Bauer joined in the pursuit of Legghette on Feb. 13 — something he wasn't required to do — Erin said: "Paul didn’t like the idea of people getting away with things."

Prosecutors said they plan on seeking a life sentence against Legghette, who is being held without bail at Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee. He has a history of felony convictions, and before the February shooting, Legghette was last arrested by Chicago police in 2014. At that time, he was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to two years in prison.

Legghette was sentenced to 16 years in prison for armed robbery in 1998, and he received 30 days of community service for a battery conviction in 2011. In 2007, he was convicted of possession of a defaced firearm and sentenced to three years in prison. He also was charged with possessing body armor as a felon in that incident, but he was not convicted on that charge.

More via Chicago magazine

Shomari Legghette, 44 (Photo via Cook County Sheriff's Office)