Crime & Safety
Correctional Officer's Death Officially Ruled Suicide
Some had been concerned about William Washington in the past, said one neighbor.
The shooting death of an off-duty Cook County correctional officer who lived in Chicago Heights was officially ruled a suicide Wednesday.
William Washington, 40, died Monday of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
He will be remembered by some as a good man, said one of Washington's neighbors in the Lynwood-Chicago Heights neighborhood, though he was troubled, too.
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"He and his girlfriend seemed to be good people," reflected the elderly neighbor, who spoke to Patch.com on the term that she would not be named.
"People had been concerned about him before. If he did that, shot himself, he wasn't playing. People in law enforcement, they know how to do it," said the neighbor. "It's like (comedian) Moms Mabley said, put the gun against your chest, and aim upward about 2 inches."
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Washington was pronounced dead shortly after 7:30 p.m. at St. James Hospital after he was taken from an apartment in Steger, according to an early report from the medical examiner's office.
Steger Police Chief Richard Stultz said the apartment belonged to Washington's girlfriend. The two had reportedly quarreled earlier in the day.
Washington had worked for the Cook County Sheriff's Office for more than 11 years, according to a spokesman. Media reports said he was described as a "good employee" who worked in Division 1 of the Cook County Jail, the facility's oldest maximum security division.
