CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer on the verge of retirement after more than two decades on the job was found dead Monday in a North Side police station in an apparent suicide, officials said.
Officer James Daly had been with the department since October 1999 and was assigned to the Town Hall patrol district, covering communities including Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Uptown, Chicago Tribune reported.
The officer, 47, was found shot to death in a locker room at the Town Hall Station, 850 W. Addison St., early Monday, law enforcement sources said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Daly was pronounced dead shortly before 3 a.m.
“He was a respected and dedicated 21-year veteran, and a friend to many in the Chicago Police Department,” police Superintendent David Brown said in a statement. “Today, I mourn alongside everyone in the department. His loss is deeply felt by me and his many colleagues with whom he worked for many years.
“Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends who are now grieving over this unimaginable loss. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”
Sources said Daly, who worked the overnight shift, had been expected to retire this week, according to the Tribune.
Daly’s body will undergo an autopsy at the medical examiner’s office Tuesday. If the office determines officially that he died by a suicide, Daly would be at least the 10th Chicago police officer to take his own life since 2018.
