Bio & Incident Details
Age: 31
Tour: 2 years
Badge # 3271
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 5/19/1975
Weapon: Rifle; .22 caliber
Suspect: Paroled in 1986
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Officer Joseph P. Cali was shot and killed by a sniper while writing a parking ticket.
At 9:30 p.m., Officer Cali, was in the process of writing a citation on a 1966 Chevrolet for being illegally parked at a bus stop when he was suddenly struck in the head by a bullet. Officer Cali was shot by a sniper from a window at the public housing project building located on West Lake Street.
Officer Cali was transported to Cook County Hospital. He never regained consciousness and passed away the following day.
The juvenile shooter had been in an argument with another neighborhood boy earlier in the evening and was waiting for the boy to make another pass on his bicycle. Before the boy made another pass the officers arrived and began to write the citation. The killer then told his cousins he was going to shoot an officer and fired the round which struck Officer Cali.
Officer Joseph Cali was a veteran of department for a little more than two years and had served the Army in Vietnam. He is survived by his wife and a 3 year-old and 1 year-old daughter. Officer Cali’s services were held at St. Juliana’s Church on Chicago’s Northwest side and interment was at St. Joseph's Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.
Officer Cali's killer was sentenced to 20-25 years in prison. He was paroled in 1986 after serving less than half of his sentence.
