Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew funeral: City mourns loss of CPD veteran

Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew remembered in emotional funeral service

Family, friends and coworkers of Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew paid their respects at his funeral service on Friday.

CHICAGO - Chicago police officer John Bartholomew will be laid to rest today, nearly two weeks after he was shot and killed in the line of duty.

The funeral service took place at 10 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church.

Bartholomew had served with CPD for 10 years and is survived by his wife and three children. Family, friends and fellow officers gathered to pay their respects to Bartholomew during a visitation on Thursday.

Bartholomew, 38, and his partner, Ofc. Nelson Crespo were both shot at Swedish Hospital on Chicago’s North Side on April 25 after they had taken an armed robbery suspect into custody earlier that morning.

Chicago Police Ofc. John Bartholomew funeral

The backstory:

The suspect, Alphanso Talley, has been charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the shooting of the two officers. Crespo was in critical condition as a result of the shooting.

Many questions still remain about how Talley allegedly got a gun into the hospital after being arrested and searched.

Chicago's top cop Larry Snelling mourns loss of Officer John Bartholomew: 'His legacy will live on'

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling honors the service and commitment of slain Officer John Bartholomew.

While the shooting has sparked political outrage surrounding the legal machinations that allowed Talley to be out of jail while being prosecuted for previous alleged violent crimes, city officials are also mourning the loss of another police officer in just the past few years.

"As we prepare to lay our fallen hero to rest, we ask that the city continue to pray for Officer Bartholomew's family," said CPD Supt. Larry Snelling in a statement this week. "We will ensure his legacy and the sacrifice he made to keep the people of Chicago safe will never be forgotten."

CPD officers killed in the line of duty

By the numbers:

Bartholomew is the seventh Chicago police officer to have been shot and killed in the last five years:

• Ella French, 2021
• Andres Vasquez Lasso, 2023
• Areanah Preston, 2023
• Luis Huesca, 2024
• Enrique Martinez, 2024
• Krystal Rivera, 2025