Coronavirus prompts new funeral protocol for Chicago officer
Posted April 09, 2020 7:00 am
CHICAGO (AP) - A funeral for the first Chicago Police officer to die from complications of the coronavirus on Thursday looked unlike any funeral for a city officer in memory.
To protect Marco DiFranco's fellow officers and other mourners from the virus that causes COVID-19, there was no crowded church, no streets lined with officers and respectful onlookers and no packed cemetery - a show of respect that has for generations comforted the families of fallen officers.
For DiFranco, whose death was determined to be in the line-of-duty by Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck, there was instead a private service at a funeral home attended only by family. Then, the funeral procession took the officer's remains to All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Des Plaines.
People who did stand along the route to pay their respects wore protective masks, as did the few uniformed police officers who stood at attention just outside the cemetery gates as the procession drove to the cemetery
Dozens of squad cars from several law enforcement agencies lined the street outside the funeral home and escorted the hearse to the cemetery, but the officers driving the vehicles did not get out and did not drive into the cemetery.
The department's mounted unit escorted the casket from the hearse to the grave site for a service attended only by the family and the department's command staff.
The 50-year-old DiFranco, a decorated undercover narcotics officer died last week. He is survived by his wife and two children.
A man salutes as the hearse carrying Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Family and friends of Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, who had to stand outside during the funeral amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic, wave goodbye as the hearse leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Close friends of Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, who had to stand outside during the funeral amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic, hug each other as the hearse leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
A Chicago Police Department sergeant wears a face mask and gets emotional while standing on West Lawrence Avenue, as only family members were permitted inside Cumberland Funeral Chapels for Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Law enforcement supports walk along West Lawrence Avenue, as only family members were permitted inside Cumberland Funeral Chapels for Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Close friends of Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, who had to stand outside during the funeral amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic, hug each other as the hearse leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Close friends of Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco, who had to stand outside during the funeral amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic, hug each other as the hearse leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Led by a procession of hundreds of law enforcement vehicles, the hearse carrying Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Hundreds of law enforcement officers sit in their vehicles along West Lawrence Avenue, as only family members were permitted inside Cumberland Funeral Chapels for Chicago Police Officer Marco DiFranco,, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Chicago Police Department shows Officer Marco DiFranco. DiFranco is the first Chicago Police officer to die from complications of the new coronavirus. His funeral will look unlike any such funeral in memory, as several steps are being taken to protect the family and fellow officers from the virus that causes COVID-19. There will be no crowded church or cemetery. Only the officer's family will attend the service at the funeral home, and only the family and the department's command staff will attend a grave site service at a suburban cemetery. (Courtesy of Chicago Police Department via AP)
The Associated Press
Led by a procession of hundreds of law enforcement vehicles, the hearse carrying Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Led by a procession of hundreds of law enforcement vehicles, the hearse carrying Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco leaves Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Funeral workers carry the casket to the hearse for Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Funeral workers carry the casket to the hearse for Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Funeral workers carry the casket to the hearse for Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Funeral workers carry the casket to the hearse for Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
Funeral workers carry the casket to the hearse for Chicago Police Officer Officer Marco DiFranco at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, Thursday, April 9, 2020 in Norridge, Ill. DiFranco, 50, died April 2 from complications due to COVID-19, making him the first Chicago police officer to lose his life to the coronavirus. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
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