"Manufacturing plants had packed up and shipped off, leaving the mostly Black residents of Austin in a place where guns were more readily available than jobs. A gang called the Four Corner Hustlers controlled the streets surrounding the store. Just three weeks earlier, another off-duty police officer had been at the M&M buying lottery tickets when two would-be burglars entered."
"He'd proposed to his girlfriend on Christmas Day and the extra income from M&M would help pay for the wedding. His fiance, Latrice Tucker, chafed at all his side jobs, which also included a security gig at Walmart. She had scheduled an appointment to tour a potential wedding venue that afternoon, but Lewis kissed her on the cheek and told her he was running late for work."
"Standing 6ft 6in tall, colleagues called him a gentle giant—the officer who'd bring a sweater for a shivering young woman in a holding cell at a police station. If Williams couldn't work, Lewis would fill in. Which is how Lewis found himself perched on a stool behind the counter, watching the store owner count out his takings when the glass doors swung open at 8.32pm."
Clifton Lewis, an off-duty Chicago police officer, worked a second job as a security guard at M&M Quick Foods in the Austin neighborhood to earn money for his wedding. He had recently proposed to his fiancée Latrice Tucker on Christmas Day. The store, located in a economically disadvantaged area controlled by the Four Corner Hustlers gang, had hired security after a previous armed robbery attempt three weeks earlier. On the evening of December 29, 2011, Lewis was working behind the counter when two masked men entered the store at 8:32pm. Lewis identified himself as Chicago police and drew his weapon as the robbery unfolded.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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