The White Sox will honor Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer at Thursday’s home opener against the Detroit Tigers by having his family deliver the ceremonial baseball to the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Police Commander Bauer was gunned down in a mid-day shooting while in pursuit of a suspect on Feb. 13. He was a 31-year veteran of the force and was shot to death in front of the Thompson Center trying to apprehend a suspect fleeing from tactical response officers.
In honor of fallen Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer, members of the Bauer family will present the game ball. #CWSHomeOpener pic.twitter.com/LN8qozP1PJ
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 2, 2018
The 44-year-old suspect was apprehended and it was later discovered that the perpetrator had quite a rap sheet. The suspect was a four-time felon and sentenced to 16 years in prison for a 1998-robbery, at one time.
Bauer had been an advocate for harsher penalties for violent crime to keep the city of Chicago safer. His wife and 13-year-old daughter will deliver the baseball to all-time White Sox fan-favorite A.J. Pierzynski whom will throw out the first pitch. Bauer is the highest-ranking officer to fall in the line of duty in decades and the first police officer shot and killed since 2011.
