Chicago Officer Recovers; Suspects Sought

July 9, 2013
Officer Jimmy Sherlock is recovering at his home after being beaten unconscious while off duty.

Chicago police Officer Jimmy Sherlock is recovering at his home after being beaten unconscious while off duty during a robbery in the South Loop that he barely remembers, a frustrating circumstance that has him and his police brethren looking for the public's help.

"They came from behind; I don't really remember much at all," Sherlock said Monday. "I was knocked out cold."

Sherlock, whose father, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were all Chicago police officers, is a six-year Chicago Police Department veteran assigned to the South Chicago District on the South Side.

He has hearing loss in his left ear, an injured arm and a broken collarbone, shoulder blade and rib, he said.

"It's going good," Sherlock said. "Each day is better."

The attack happened about 12:15 a.m. June 29 in the 2000 block of South State Street after Sherlock left the second game of a long White Sox doubleheader early with a friend. He said goodbye to his father, Detective James Sherlock, who was working at the game, and left. Both he and his friend were on bicycles.

They rode for a while but split up, with Sherlock heading to his South Loop home.

"I just remember seeing a group at about 20th and State and ... I don't remember anything after that," Sherlock said.

According to a police report, three unknown men in their 20s struck Sherlock in the back of the head with a blunt object while the victim was riding his bicycle, knocking him out.

But Sherlock's gut tells him none of those three hit him, and there was fourth assailant behind him, whom he didn't see.

When he regained consciousness, his iPhone 4S and bright blue and white racing bike were missing, the report said. And Sherlock said he wasn't quite himself.

"It took me a long time to realize I'd been robbed," he said, explaining that when he got up and started walking, he thought maybe he'd been in a car accident.

"The next thing I remember, I was walking away from that spot and just thinking something really bad happened."

He stumbled into the nearby Central District police station, about two blocks away at 1718 S. State St., and started making calls. One was to his father, who received the phone call about 12:40 a.m. from a number he recognized, the Central District station.

"He made no sense at all," said his father, who became alarmed, knowing he'd just seen his son at U.S. Cellular Field.

"I asked, 'Why are you calling me from the police station, are you in trouble?' I left the job and flew over there."

Jimmy Sherlock, meanwhile, was still struggling to get his bearings.

"I really don't remember being there. ... I was making phone calls to people for help," he said.

When James Sherlock saw his son, the left side of his body was limp and he had a bloody nose, he said. Northwestern Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Sheila Galloro said Sherlock was treated and released later that day.

Soon father and son began to piece together what happened, finding that he'd been robbed of his "very nice" KHS road bike, his iPhone and Ray Ban sunglasses, items valued at about $1,000.

Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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