Re-posted by Nicholas Stix
Thanks to reader-researcher RC for this story.
I was reading the heroic story of the late Thomas Wortham IV, a black Chicago cop who had just returned in April 2010, from serving his country on his second tour in Iraq, when he was murdered by a black gang seeking to steal his motorcycle in his Chicago neighborhood of Chatham on May 20, 2010. Then I looked at the photographs and captions from stories about his death and funeral. Where’s his funeral taking place?! And what’s Wortham wearing in that huge photograph?!
Trinity United Church of Christ is the genocidal, Black Liberation Theology institution that for a generation was the stronghold of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah T. Wright, and for over 20 years was the spiritual home to the John Doe calling himself “Barack Obama” and his wife, Michelle.
The Rev. Dr. Wright was one of the biggest fans of Min. Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the black supremacist murder cult, the Nation of Islam, and even bestowed an award on him.
Meanwhile, Thomas Wortham IV’s neighborhood is a longtime NOI stronghold.
Finally, look at the photograph of Wortham—he’s wearing a bowtie! Not only that, but his uniform looks like that of the NOI’s Fruit of Islam bodyguard/assassins unit.
Dad testifies to shooting robbers who had just wounded his son, a cop
By Steve Schmadeke
November 6, 2014 7:19 P.M.
Chicago Tribune
Slain cop's dad: 'I told my wife to call the police -- they had just shot our son.'
Dad testifies to witnessing murder of son, an off-duty cop
Mother testifies it was an ordinary night before the sudden violence
[That’s the story in every black neighborhood.]
Thomas Wortham III's son, an off-duty Chicago cop, had just been shot outside the family's South Side home by one of two would-be robbers when the father picked up his son's 9 mm handgun from the street and opened fire with that weapon and his own .38-caliber revolver.
"I shot with both hands. They both fell to the ground," Wortham, a retired Chicago police sergeant, testified Thursday. One assailant was killed and the other wounded.
The dramatic account by Wortham came on the first day of testimony at the trial of two defendants charged with killing his son, Thomas Wortham IV, 30, who just a month earlier had ended a second tour of duty in Iraq.
Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune
Mayor Richard Daley and Gov. Pat Quinn leave the church following funeral services for Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV, at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Wortham was shot to death May 20 in a robbery attempt across from his parents' home in the Chatham neighborhood.
Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune
Buttons baring the images of fellow police officers who have died are displayed by a police officer waiting outside during funeral services for Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV.
The elder Wortham spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, struggling to maintain his composure only once as he recalled his son's final words.
His wife, Carolyn, also took the witness stand, breaking down in tears as prosecutors played her emotional 911 call from that night in May 2010.
It was the first time that it was disclosed in court that the elder Wortham had shot both men who were trying to steal his son's new Yamaha motorcycle. Moments before, his son had engaged in a shootout with the two before he was mortally wounded. Brian Floyd was killed in the gunfight while his cousin, Marcus Floyd, was shot and seriously wounded.
Two other defendants — Toyious Taylor and Paris McGee, who allegedly were in a getaway car — are on trial at the Leighton Criminal Court Building
Carolyn Wortham testified that it had been an ordinary night before the sudden violence. Her son had spent several hours at the Chatham home his grandfather had built, showing his parents photos from his recent trip to Washington, where he had taken part in an annual memorial for slain police officers.
She told jurors she watched in her robe from the front door as two attackers pointed guns at her son. She said she heard her son yell, "Chicago police!" before seeing a muzzle flash from one of the assailant's guns.
"They're shooting at him!" she said in a frantic 911 call seconds later. "My husband's out there too. Oh, my God!"
Moments later, she said she ran outside, pleading, "Where's Tommy? Where's Tommy?"
I told my wife to call the police -- they had just shot our son. - Thomas Wortham III
Prosecutors said a red Pontiac Grand Prix — driven by Taylor and with McGee in the passenger seat — had struck the younger Wortham, dragging his body about a quarter-mile on 85th Street.
Thomas Wortham III, the prosecution's star witness, said he saw much of the late-night incident unfold while in his slippers, first from the doorway of his house as the two attempted to rob his son, then on the street as he engaged the Floyds in a gunbattle.
Wortham testified that he saw two men approach his son and point their guns at him outside the family home, leading him to shout out to "get away from here." That prompted Brian Floyd to point his weapon at the elder Wortham and warn him to "get my ass back in the house," Wortham testified.
At that point, authorities say, the younger Wortham drew his gun and identified himself as a police officer. He and Floyd exchanged gunfire, they said.
Wortham testified that he heard one shot before he dashed back inside the house to grab a .38-caliber revolver from his bedroom about 10 feet from the front door.
"I told my wife to call the police — they had just shot our son," Wortham said.
McGee flashed a handgun and yelled at the Floyds to get in the car, Wortham testified. As he yelled for them to get away, Wortham said, the car sped off while McGee fired a shot at him.
Wortham said he was crouched on one side of his daughter's car while the Floyds were on the other side. After picking up his son's 9 mm handgun lying in the street, he testified, he opened fire with both weapons when he saw Brian Floyd point a gun at him.
Once both men were down, Wortham said, he rushed down the street to his son where he had been dragged by the car.
"It hurts," Wortham said his son told him.
Wortham paused when a Cook County prosecutor asked him what he said to his son.
"I told him it's going to be all right," said Wortham, 67, fighting back tears as his daughter, Sandra, leaned forward in the courtroom gallery and began crying.
A paramedic testified that Wortham wasn't breathing when she arrived at the scene.
Wortham's father stood on the stand and pointed out Taylor and McGee as the two he saw inside the car. He had also identified them in a police lineup four years ago.
Separate juries will decide the fate of Taylor, 34, and McGee, 24 in a single trial being presided over by Judge Timothy Joyce.
Defense attorneys have said in court papers that the third defendant, Marcus Floyd, 23, has amnesia and can't recall the events of that night because of injuries he suffered when he was shot. A judge must decide if he is mentally fit to go to trial.
Wortham, one of six police officers killed in the line of duty in 2010, had spoken out against violence in the Chatham neighborhood to a Tribune reporter less than a week before he was slain.
"When people think of the South Side of Chicago, they think violence. In Chatham, that's not what we see," Wortham said after two shootings at the basketball court in Cole Park near his parents' home. "We're going to fix it, so it doesn't happen again."
sschmadeke@tribune.com
Twitter @SteveSchmadeke
The man is wearing Army Dress Blues. The bow tie signifies that he was attending a formal military ball or dinner. The light blue disk on the right lapel signifies he was Infantry branch, not NOI. Additionally, note the gold trimmed shoulder loop on the left shoulder.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully, a 1SG (ret)
Dude, it's a tuxedo
ReplyDeleteWow! Just like the wild wild West. I am sure these folks all support the police officers in Ferguson, MO and especially Wilson.
ReplyDeleteI have worn Army dress blues many times. I never wore a bow tie with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm ex-Army. That pic is of Army Dress Blues. Google it. Yes, you wear a bow-tie with it.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a heroic black man, home from war, tragically murdered by a mob of black criminals.