Slain Chicago Cop: Blue Ribbons, Flags Honor Cmdr. Paul Bauer

CHICAGO, IL — A mourning flag raised at Chicago's police headquarters Wednesday was just one of the ways the city was honoring Cmdr. Paul Bauer a day after he was shot and killed during a foot chase at the Thompson Center. Residents of the Near North District the 31-year veteran oversaw also turned out to offer condolences and support to the fallen commander's fellow officers in the hours following the tragedy.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel — who addressed officers in Bauer's district along with Supt. Eddie Johnson on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning — called the fatal shooting "a gut punch" to the Chicago Police Department and the city, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Bauer, 53, was gunned down Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Thompson Center while trying to help police tactical officers apprehend a man who they had seen acting suspicious. The commander had been at the center for a training session and joined the foot pursuit in street clothes after hearing a radio alert about the incident.

RELATED: Chicago Police Commander Gunned Down At Thompson Center (VIDEO)

Bauer caught up with the man, and the two fought in a stairwell outside the Thompson Center. That's when Bauer was shot multiple times. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

The man was taken in to custody, and a weapon was recovered, police said. No charges have been filed in the case, but they are expected as police wrap up the investigation, according to a department spokesman.

"Detectives worked through the night & continue to comb through evidence to build our case in the murder of Cmdr. Paul Bauer," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote in an online update Wednesday morning. "We expect to file charges sometime in next 36 hrs."

RELATED: Cmdr. Paul Bauer: Learn How Slain Cop Spent 31-Year CPD Career

Bauer joined the CPD in 1986, and he spent his entire law enforcement career with the Chicago police force, working in various capacities around the city. Along with heading up the Near North District, he also was in charge of the department's mounted division and its officers on horseback.

Bauer's CPD colleagues, as well as Chicago firefighters and members of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, began honoring his memory soon after news of his death began circulating Tuesday. A miles-long honor procession led by police vehicles from around Chicago escorted the ambulance carrying Bauer's body from the hospital, 251 E. Huron St., to the Cook County medical examiner's office, 2121 W. Harrison St.

The procession's route was filled with officers and others who saluted the ambulance as it passed. A gathering of law enforcement members and firefighters also saluted and stood at attention when Bauer's body was taken from the ambulance once it reached the medical examiner's office.

Before his budget address Wednesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner asked for a moment of silence in memory of Bauer. Flags at the Thompson Center were flown at half staff Wednesday in the officer's honor. The center also became the site of an improvised memorial for Bauer, with flowers, photos, flags, candles and other mementos being left in Bauer's memory, according to the Tribune.

Blue ribbons with gold stars also adorned trees around Bridgeport, where lived with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. Shortly after the shooting, Supt. Johnson asked the officers in Bauer's district to not only supporting one another, but also the fallen commander's family, according to Guglielmi.

"CPD officers will step in for Paul & take his young daughter to school from here on in," he wrote online Tuesday.

Others wanting to help Bauer's family are urged to donate to the Chicago Police Memorial Fund, a nonprofit group that offers assistance to the families of officers who are killed or hurt in the line of duty. The public also can help the Bauer family by donating to the Paul Bauer Memorial Fund at any Chicago Patrolmen's Federal Credit Union location.

Funeral arrangements for Bauer are still pending.

Blue ribbons with gold stars hang on trees in the Bridgeport neighborhood where slain Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer lived. (Photo via Ald. Patrick D. Thompson)