Chicago police officer honored at White House

A Chicago police sergeant was honored at the White House on Saturday evening for successfully capturing two suspects in an armed robbery in the Hermosa neighborhood late last year.

The capture was a made-for-TV incident that also included freeing six victims — three of them children — who had been bound with duct tape inside the store.

Sgt. Don Jerome, who works in the Grand Central District, received a TOP COPS award from the National Association of Police Organizations and was honored by both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during a ceremony in the White House's Rose Garden.

The capture of the suspects "seemed like it was in slow motion," said Jerome, shortly after returning from Washington on Sunday night. "It was scary, but I knew what I was doing."

On Nov. 19, Jerome, a 17-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, responded to a call of an armed robbery in progress in the 4100 block of West North Avenue. After he arrived, Jerome was met by a panicked woman who said that her store was being robbed, according to information provided by the National Association of Police Organizations and Chicago police.

When he entered the store, Jerome said he saw a man in a mask clearing merchandise from a store display.

"I just yelled, 'Police!' and he took off running," Jerome said. "I went on autopilot."

With his gun and flashlight drawn, Jerome followed the man as he fled to the back of the store. After kicking his way through one door, Jerome said he discovered the six victims bound with duct tape and gagged in a darkened bathroom.

He continued his pursuit and came upon a second man. He tried to arrest the men, but the two attacked Jerome, kicking and hitting him. While he was struggling with one of the men, the second reached into a bag.

Jerome remembers the sound of the gun hitting the floor.

"I tackled him, and the fight was on," said Jerome, describing the assailant as a tall man weighing 250 pounds. "We were bouncing off the walls, and that's when I rammed through the front plate-glass window."

They both crashed through the glass storefront and onto the sidewalk. The sergeant then was able to subdue the man with the help of a bystander while other officers who had responded to the robbery call helped arrest the other suspect.

Jerome was among 34 police officers from 10 states honored by the Washington-based National Association of Police Organizations.

Obama said the winners, whose awards were presented by TV actors who have played law enforcement characters, were "representative of the sacrifices and that quiet courage that exists among law enforcement officers all across the country."

"I hope that we also pledge to learn something from the example that they set. Because while most of us will never be asked to run straight into a hail of bullets or chase down an armed suspect on foot, we also have responsibilities to meet," Obama said.

Jerome's heroics helped clear a pattern of more than a half-dozen armed robberies, according to the national police group. Jerome said the two men have been charged with armed robbery in that incident, as well as in connection with an armed robbery crew that police were pursuing at the time.

"Sgt. Jerome has really amazed me," said his commander, Hector Rodriguez of the 25th District. "Every time there has been a hot call, an emergency situation ... he pretty much has been there before anybody else."

Jerome said he did what most of his fellow officers would have done if faced with the same situation.

"I was at the right place at the right time, and I was glad to be able to help," Jerome said. "That's what Chicago police officers do. I was honored and humbled by being in the company of these TOP COPS."

Jerome, who grew up in the western suburbs, was especially pleased to have his mother with him.

"It wasMother's Day(weekend)," he said. "President Obama hugged and kissed my mom and talked to her for a minute. She was ecstatic."