Hero police officer fatally shot by suspect leaving a bank, bullet holes left in library window | Law Enforcement Today

OAK PARK, IL - Authorities have stated that an officer with the Oak Park Police Department (OPPD) was fatally shot while responding to a report of a man with a gun leaving a bank. That suspect was also shot by police and has since been taken into custody.

According to CBS News, the incident took place on Friday, November 29th, around 9:00 a.m. when a man with a gun was leaving the Chase Bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street. OPPD Chief Shatonya Johnson said 40-year-old Detective Allan Reddins has been with the department since May of 2019 and that he is the first officer to be killed in the line of duty since 1938.

Johnson said in a statement, "This is the worst day of any chief of police. Our police department, we're hurting right now. I'm hurting. His family is hurting. Please keep us in your prayers."

When officers responded to the incident, Johnson said Reddins and other officers came across the suspect in the 800 block of Lake Street and told the man to show his hands. The gunman brandished a handgun and shot Reddins in the left side. Officer were able to return fire, shooting the suspect in the leg.

Reddins was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead a 10:10 a.m. The suspect was also being treated at the same hospital. 

The shooting caught residents in the area off guard and left bullet holes in the windows at the village's main library, which was then closed to the public after the incident. A witness said she was at the UPS store nearby when she heard someone storm out of a store and then heard what sounded like gunshots. She said, "I knew it was gunshots. I didn't want to believe that."

Nicholas Gradishar said he was walking to a friend's house nearby when he heard the gunshots. He said, "I get down after I hear the shots and then I come to the library to see it littered with cops." He said he saw the police take the suspect into custody after he had been shot. He added, "They were checking his pockets. They found a little handgun, but off to the side there was an ARP with a flashlight. So, I don't know which one he used to shoot at the cops, but he had multiple guns on him."

Gradishar said he recorded footage of the suspect on the ground with a gun nearby. Moments later, paramedics took him away on a stretcher. He said, "Nothing happens up here. You may find a fight or so, but nothing like this will ever happen here So, it's wild."

On Friday afternoon, a police procession took Reddins' body from the hospital to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Dozens of police officers and firefighters from Chicago, Oak Park, and other surrounding areas stood at attention and saluted as the ambulance arrived and Reddins' body was escorted inside.

Reddins leaves behind a 19-year-old son, along with his mother and siblings. Johnson described him as a "natural-born leader, devoted father," saying she personally conducted Reddins' background check before hiring him as an officer in 2019. She said, "I quickly identified that he had a talent that was needed here. He closed substantial cases, and helped us to resolve countless incidents. He was a natural."

Before joining OPPD, Reddins had also served with the Metra Police Department. He's been a detective with OPPD since 2022. Johnson said, "I thought he would make a phenomenal field training officer as well, and I was looking very much forward to him becoming a sergeant. He was just a natural leader. He would always take the extra step, go the extra step, and that's huge, to say what else can be done?"