Loyalty, love and unstoppable courage: Kane County says goodbye to slain police dog Hudson
Hudson was a Kane County sheriff's office police dog for just a little more than two years, but his brief career - cut short when he was shot to death last week - made a significant impact.
And as befits a law enforcement officer who dies in the line of duty, Hudson was honored Thursday with a funeral attended by hundreds of cops, politicians, colleagues and residents.
"Let us forever remember Hudson for what he represented, and all law enforcement needs: Loyalty, love when love is needed, aggression when aggression is needed, and unstoppable courage," Sheriff Ron Hain said at the ceremony, which featured an honor guard, the playing of taps, and the traditional end-of-watch radio dispatch for a departed officer.
In a gymnasium at Kaneland Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove, Hudson's fellow sheriff's officers paid their respects at the start of the memorial service, followed by more than 100 police and therapy dogs from departments across the region.
Dozens of police officers from other departments and firefighters also took part in the ceremony.
Hudson, a 4-year-old Dutch shepherd, died May 24 while apprehending a man who was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle. The chase passed through several communities before coming to an end at a busy intersection on Randall Road in Batavia.
Hudson had gripped an arm on the gun-wielding man when he was fatally shot in an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and sheriff's deputies. The man was pronounced dead later at a nearby hospital.
"His (Hudson's) unwavering bravery isolated the suspect so no other officers or members of the public were injured," Hain said.
Christ Community Church Pastor Steve Gallagher said Hudson was dedicated to his "God-given calling." Like all people and animals, God gave Hudson a task to perform, Gallagher said.
"He was designed and trained to protect and serve."
And on the day Hudson died, "his dedication to his calling was once again on display," Gallagher said.
Mourners watched a video highlighting Hudson's life - his training as a police dog, time relaxing at home, and posing with narcotics he had detected.
Hudson specialized in narcotics and patrol duties. During his time on the force, he discovered more than 100 kilograms of illegal drugs, and tracked more than 100 criminal suspects and missing people, according to the sheriff's office.
After the service, police escorted Hudson's cremated remains to the sheriff's headquarters in St. Charles, where officials hope to find a permanent location for them.
A little laugh
As sometimes happens at funerals, levity broke out.
When a musician began playing "Amazing Grace" on a bagpipe at the start of the ceremony, some of the canine guests began barking. We don't know if they were trying to sing along.
Medals of Honor
A day before Hudson 's farewell in Kane County, another solemn ceremony took place Wednesday in Springfield, where 136 officers statewide were recognized - more than two dozen of them posthumously - with a Law Enforcement Medal of Honor.
Among them were four suburban law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in recent.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly and law enforcement officials took part in a ceremony in Springfield bestowing the awards, which recognizes officers for acts of heroism.
Among those honored posthumously: McHenry County sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner of Crystal Lake, who was fatally shot in March 2019 while attempting to capture a fugitive in Rockford; Illinois State Police Trooper Gerald Ellis, killed in April 2019 by a wrong-way driver on I-94; Bloomingdale police Officer Raymond Murrell, killed in a January 2017 vehicle crash while responding to a call; and Illinois State Police Trooper Christopher Lambert of Highland Park, killed in January 2019 when struck by a vehicle as he assisted a stalled driver on I-294.
Also honored were Aurora police officers Alexander Lopez and Andrew C. Soderlund, who risked their own safety last year to rescue a boy from an icy pond; Carpentersville Sgt. Kevin M. Stankowitz and Officer Ian R. Abrahamsen, injured in a 2020 shootout with a gang member; and Glen Ellyn Officer Kevin J. Riggle, who rescued a woman after she drove into a pond on the College of DuPage campus in 2017.
Others recipients included: Lake County sheriff's deputies John B. Forlenza and Raymond J. Gilbert, who in 2018 captured a burglary suspect who had opened fire on them; Lombard Detective Ryan A. Postal, who shot and killed a robbery suspect during an exchange of gunfire in November; McHenry County sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Kramer and Lake County Deputy Thomas Sieber, who came under fire in 2020 while capturing a murder suspect, returned fire and shot the man then performed CPR on him until paramedics arrived; and North Aurora police Officer Christopher M. Joswick, who in 2017 fatally shot a Kane County jail inmate who had taken nurses hostage at Delnor Hospital in Geneva.
"The special souls we pay tribute to met the common daily challenge of enforcing our laws with uncommon bravery," Kelly said.
Wednesday's Medal of Honor ceremony was the first held since 2016.
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