Chicago officer who died 102 years ago among four added to Memorial Wall

CHICAGO — The names of four fallen officers, including one who died more than 100 years ago, were added Wednesday to the memorial wall at Gold Star Families Memorial and Park, just east of Soldier Field.

Added to the memorial wall that carries the names of approximately 600 officers were Probationary Patrolman Benjamin F. Devlin, Lieutenant Edward V. O’Neill, Detective Todd C. Gillerlain and Patrolman James B. Crowley.

Family members of the fallen officers gathered for the ceremony under a cloudless sky as the sound of bagpipes filled the October air.

“These four officers lived a life of service and optimism even through some of the most challenging times,” said Phillip Cline, the executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. “They were enthusiastic officers and leaders who were poised to serve our city with unrelenting pride.”

Patrolman Crowley passed away recently , on August 22, as a result of injuries sustained 37 years earlier. He was severely injured in September 1987 when the squad car he was in was struck by a drunken driver, leaving him paralyzed and with sustained traumatic brain injuries. Crowley was 59 years old and was survived by his sister, Beth. Another officer in the car, William Morrison, was killed in the crash. He was previously added to the memorial wall.

Detective Gillerlain passed away on May 7, 2020 of a pulmonary embolism that developed after he broke his thigh bone two months earlier while responding to a homicide investigation. He was 48 years old and left behind his wife, Regina; two children, Daniel and Patricia; and his siblings.

Lt. O’Neill suffered a fatal heart attack on November 1, 1972 at Midway Airport while acting as the commanding officer of a team assigned to the security detail for a presidential nominee in that year’s election. He was survived by his wife Frances and eight children.

Probationary Patrolman Devlin died on November 15, 1922 after developing pneumonia. Days earlier, he’d entered a paint factory near East 43rd Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue that was on fire. He was 28 years old and had nearly completed his probation requirements with the department at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, MaryJane, and four young daughters, Eileen, Dorothy, Lorraine and Merle.

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Chicago Police Department sometimes hear of deaths from the early 20th century that may have been overlooked or not honored at that time in the same way they are today. Potential cases that are later discovered are researched.

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