Patrolman Marquez Sr. | Star #8620

Patrolman Donald Joseph Marquez, Sr., Star #8620, aged 47 years, was a 20 year, 1 month, 16 day veteran of the Chicago Police Department, assigned to the 16th District – Jefferson Park and detailed to the Bureau of Operational Services: Unit 543 – Detached Services / City of Chicago Corporation Counsel’s Office.

On March 18, 2002, at 10:02 p.m., Officer Marquez and his partner, Patrolman Anthony Mejia, age 38, were on duty and tasked with serving arrest warrants for housing violations. The officers attempted to serve and arrest warrant on, Henry A. Wolk, age 77, who lived at 2451 North Avers Avenue. Wolk had 29 building code violations associated with his two story brown brick residence and was ordered to appear in housing court. He had been issued prior citations and had failed to appear in Housing Court six times to address the violations. In January of 2002, a Housing Court judge signed an order authorizing police to take Wolk into custody. Officer Marquez and his partner, wearing civilian clothes, arrived at Wolk’s doorstep. An upstairs neighbor agreed to help the officers persuade Wolk to open his door. The officers and the neighbor spoke to Wolk through the door for 10 minutes, but the conversation was “one-way.“ After many failed attempts, Officer Marquez along with other officers battered down the front door of the apartment. Wolk fired through the doorway the moment the door crashed down striking Marquez twice with a .22 caliber pistol. Marquez was not wearing his bulletproof vest. Marquez’s partner and Wolk’s neighbor ran up the stairs for cover after the initial gunshots. Wolk engaged officers in a shoot-out for 10 minutes, which blocked them from immediately reaching and rescuing Marquez. Several backup officers arrived shortly afterward and Officer John Forte was able to reach the fallen officer and pull him out of the line of fire during the shootout. Officer Marquez was then carried to a waiting ambulance. He was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center by CFD Ambulance #52 where he was pronounced dead by Dr. Maltz at 12:25 a.m. on March 19, 2002. Wolk, who was holed up in his kitchen during the shootout, was shot to death by police. He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital by CFD Ambulance #10 where he was pronounced dead by Dr. Grossman at 11:32 p.m. on March 18, 2002.

Officer Marquez was waked at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home located at 6150 North Cicero Avenue. His funeral mass was held at The Moody Church located at 1635 North LaSalle Street. He was laid to rest on March 22, 2002 in Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, 7201 Archer Avenue, Justice, Illinois.

Patrolman Donald Joseph Marquez, Sr., born April 10, 1954, received his Probationary Appointment to the Chicago Police Department in February 1, 1982. He earned 3 Department Commendations, 1 Unit Meritorious Award, 25 Honorable Mentions and 3 Complimentary letters during his career. Officer Marquez had previously served as a gang crimes investigator, a tactical officer in a unit nicknamed “The Wild Bunch,“ worked in the mass transit unit before he was detailed to the city’s Law Department, where he served subpoenas.

Officer Marquez was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Latin American Police Association. He was survived by his wife, Maria C. (nee Tijerina), age 48; children: Alana Michelle, age 17, Carla Marie, age 19, Donald Joseph, Jr., age 13, Maria Delia, age 28 and Vincent Joseph, age 22; parents: Daniel and Mar; siblings: Daniel, David, Dean, Dee and Donna and grandchildren.

Incident Recorded Under Chicago Police Department RD #HH251081.

On June 20, 2002, Officer Marquez’s star was retired by Superintendent Terry G. Hillard and enshrined in the Superintendent’s Honored Star Case, located in the lobby at Chicago Police Headquarters, 3510 South Michigan Avenue.

On August 30, 2007, In memory of his heroic efforts the brand new Donald J. Marquez Charter School located at 2916 West 47th Street was named in his honor and officially opened.