Police Supt. Terry Hillard today said he would grant a full honors funeral to the police sergeant who died in a scuba-diving exercise Friday, overruling an earlier decision not to grant the 20-year police veteran such a ceremony.
Sgt. Alane Stoffregen, 50, a member of the marine unit, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after experiencing problems during a deep-water diving exercise in Lake Michigan.
Stoffregen originally had not been granted a full honors funeral because her death was considered an accident during the performance of duty. Full honors are typically reserved for police who die violently in the line of duty.
“Although the cause and manner of her death remain undetermined at the time …I am hereby ordering a full honors funeral for Sgt. Alane Stoffregen,” Hillard said in a statement issued today.
“I have instructed First Deputy Supt. John Thomas to meet with the
Stoffregen family this morning and inform them of my decision and offer the full support of the Chicago Police Department. I would ask everyone to continue to keep Alane, her immediate family and her extended police family in your thoughts and prayers in this hour of need,” Hillard said.
Also today, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was “still pending investigation.”
The accident, which occurred about a mile out in the lake, directly east of Navy Pier near the Jardine water filtration plant, also involved a 50-year-old male police diver, who was injured during the training and was treated at Northwestern hospital and released.
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When an officer dies from a violent act in the line of duty, there is an
automatic honors funeral, but when an officer dies in the performance of duty, honors are optional, depending on the case, said Sgt. James Cosgrove, president of the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Union, which represents about 1300 Chicago police sergeants.
In a letter Sunday, the union and the Stoffregen family asked Hillard to grant Stoffregen full honors.
“The determination (of Stoffregen’s death) may not be for several weeks in the future, but the funeral had to determined right now,” Cosgrove said. “We just wanted her to get the proper honors for giving the ultimate sacrifice for the city of Chicago.”
Hillard’s decision, according to police spokeswoman Lauri Sanders, “was one that stemmed from compassion and not pressure” from the family or media.
A full honors funeral includes a ceremony where Hillard and other ranking staff would be in attendance, along with police department honor guards and pallbearers, said police spokesman Pat Camden.
If funds are provided for the funeral, they will come from a private organization called the 100 Club of Cook County, Camden said. The organization collects money to reach out to families of fire and police personnel who have died in the line of duty, he said.
Camden said he was unsure if the Stoffregen family would be receiving any special benefits.
Stoffregen joined the police force in 1978 and worked as a patrol officer, a 911 operator and a youth services officer, said her sister-in-law, Debbie Stoffregen. She received a fitness award, 47 honorable mentions and four complimentary letters from her superiors, police said. She became a sergeant in June 1999.
Stoffregen joined the marine unit about a year and a half ago, but had to leave when she became a sergeant because the unit could have only so many officers at that rank, her sister-in-law said. Recently, she was able to rejoin the unit.
Visitation for Stoffregen will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Blake Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd St., Oak Lawn, a spokeswoman for the funeral home said. A St. Jude’s service will be held at 7 p.m.
On Wednesday, there will be a closing prayer service at 9:30 a.m. before the funeral mass at 10:30 a.m. at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, 3721 W. 62nd St., the spokeswoman said.