Sea of blue floods Chicago funeral for slain officer as killing fuels outrage over soft-on-crime policies

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A sea of police officers paid tribute to a fallen Chicago cop allegedly killed by a man with a decade-long criminal record who was free on pretrial release at the time of the shooting.

About 2,000 police officers, elected officials and law enforcement gathered Friday for the funeral of Chicago Police Department Officer John Bartholomew, who was allegedly killed by Alphanso Talley, 26, a man free on pretrial release at the time of the shooting on April 25. Bartholomew’s partner, Officer Nelson Crespo, was also allegedly shot by Talley at Swedish Hospital on Chicago’s North Side.

When Talley was accused of murdering Bartholomew, he was out of jail on pretrial release for a previous armed robbery case. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 11 while he was on pretrial release for the alleged armed robbery after he had two electronic monitor violations in early March, according to court documents.

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Police officers standing in formation during a funeral ceremony

Judge John Lyke, who presided over Talley’s criminal cases for at least three years, noted during a December hearing that “It appears [Talley’s] mind is finally developing, and he may be on the path to making better decisions,” according to ABC7 News. Those records indicated that Talley first got an electronic monitor on Dec. 11, 2025, but his monitor alerted two violations within three days in early March.

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John Bartholomew standing and smiling against a plain background

“To the children — your father was a hero. His legacy will live on,” Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said at the funeral. “As John is to be laid to rest. The only thing that I would like to see laid to rest alongside John is violence. Those who go out and do harm to others. Those who take and destroy lives.”

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Bartholomew, who was with the Chicago Police Department for 10 years, is survived by his wife and three children.

James Bartholomew said at the funeral that his brother had a “heart of gold.”

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“If you worked with him. If you talked to him, if you laughed with him, if you walked with him. You are feeling what I’m feeling right now. It’s as if an angel has left the earth. If you knew him. You knew his heart was full. His heart was pure,” he said.

Bartholomew’s death sparked outrage by people who say the state’s cashless bail law is to blame for Talley’s pretrial release from jail.

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Alphanso Talley’s prior convictions (Illinois Department of Corrections records):

Possession/aiding and abetting a stolen motor vehicle (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
Aggravated battery of a peace officer (entered prison: Oct. 2, 2023)
Unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon with a prior conviction (entered prison: July 19, 2021)
Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)
Aggravated robbery — indicating while armed with a firearm (entered prison: Nov. 1, 2017)

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“The SAFE-T Act, let’s be frank, the SAFE-T Act here is geared towards this national movement in America towards de-carceration. We’re seeing it everywhere in the big blue cities and at the state level as in Illinois,” former NYPD investigator Paul Mauro told Fox News. “And the idea is just that locking bad guys up isn’t a good idea, it only creates more and deeper bad guys, and so we shouldn’t be doing it. And quite frankly, that calculus essentially admits that innocents are going to be hurt, but that is a price to pay.”

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Police officers standing in formation during a funeral service

Talley allegedly shot both officers around 11 a.m. on April 25 at the hospital, where officials said he was taken into custody for a previous armed robbery. While he was being taken to a CT scan, prosecutors said he had a gun underneath his blanket, which he pulled out and then shot both officers.

He was wanted after allegedly robbing a Family Dollar store and pistol-whipping a female employee, taking her wallet and keys.

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Talley was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated unlawful restraint, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated battery of a peace officer, aggravated battery, escape and unlawful use of a weapon.

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Philip Bodinet contributed to this report.

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