May 17, 2023 “Death is only a tragic thing if you have not lived. My baby lived,” said the mother of Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston as she spoke during her daughter’s funeral.
By Jake Sheridan, Sam Charles Source Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Family, friends and fellow officers gathered to remember slain Chicago police Officer Aréanah Preston at her funeral Wednesday.
Preston was shot and killed as she returned to her Avalon Park home from a late-night shift in early May. As her loved ones celebrated her life, they recalled her enormous personality and warm smile. She was loving, witty, silly and engaging, eager to make the world a better place, they said.
Mourners sobbed as the black hearse carrying Preston arrived. Loved ones held one another up, one screaming out as bagpipers played.
The police ranks saluted as officers lifted Preston’s white casket from the hearse. It was draped in Chicago’s four-star flag. Preston’s fellow 5th District officers wore yellow ribbons on their badges. It was her favorite color, police said.
As Preston’s casket was carried past city leaders, including new Mayor Brandon Johnson, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and interim Chicago Police Department Superintendent Fred Waller, silence fell over the crowd. The only sounds came from helicopters overhead and rustling tree leaves.
Preston’s mother, Dionne Mhoon, first thanked God for “loaning us this angel” as she remembered her daughter.
”I gave my baby everything I had, and then some. I was determined to invest in her, so in return she could invest in the world. And Areaanah did just that,” Mhoon said. ”Death is only a tragic thing if you have not lived. My baby lived. I am because of her. I pray for peace in our homes. I pray for peace in our communities. And I pray for peace in my heart.”
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot recalled the many police funerals she attended while in office.
”We have wept and prayed together and tried to make sense of the senseless. It never gets easier. Today, though, feels particularly painful,” the former mayor said.
Preston, so young, loved to learn, Lightfoot said. She had sought to understand the root causes of crime, the former mayor added, calling on the city to coalesce around her death to fight violence.
Johnson, speaking at the first police funeral during his tenure as mayor, called Preston’s death an “unspeakable tragedy.” She devoted her life to “justice and peace,” Johnson said.
”The righteous perish,” said Johnson, citing scripture. “but those who walk uprightly, they enter in their peace, and they find rest even in death.”
”As a city we have so much to do to restore hope and promise,” Johnson said. “Although we have much to do, I’m confident that Aeranah’s example is how we get at the root causes of violence in this city.”
Preston’s life shows the importance of doing the right thing, “even when it’s hard,” he added. ”Though her watch has ended, her dedication to justice and her commitment to this city will live forever.”
A fellow officer said Preston was known as “Princess P” at the 5th District because she would give everyone a hug as she arrived at the station. She was quick to jab with a smart comeback or say “I love you,” she said.
Another officer recalled Preston’s huge personality. She was a bright light, more a friend than a co-worker, she said.”It still don’t even feel free,” the officer said.
Police leadership described Preston as a rising star and “a lion.” Family remembered her as an “intelligent” and “happy” person.
“She was all that and more,” Preston’s grandfather told the Tribune shortly after her death. “I can’t speak about her without breaking up.”
Early May 6, three assailants jumped out of a sedan and ran toward Preston as she walked from her car to her home, according to Cook County prosecutors.
Preston was wearing her police uniform when she was attacked. The Chicago Police Department ruled her killing was a line-of-duty death, a decision that will entitle her family to greater financial support.
Four teens arrested two days after the fatal shooting are being held without bond. The group had gone on a violent crime spree before attacking Preston, prosecutors alleged.
Prosecutors charged them with murder and several other felonies, including robbery and arson.