Particle.news
Download on the App Store
4 ARTICLES
·
3d ago

Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Man Accused of Killing CPD Officer Lasso

Prosecutors will introduce body-camera evidence as the department confronts a string of line-of-duty deaths

Chicago police Superintendent David Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot present Milena Estepa de Vásquez with the Chicago flag from the coffin of her husband, slain Chicago police Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lasso, after his funeral Mass at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, March 9, 2023. Vásquez Lasso, 32, was shot and killed as he responded to reports of a man chasing a woman with a gun in Gage Park. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Image
Image

Overview

  • Jury selection began July 14, 2025, at Chicago’s Leighton Criminal Court Building for Steven Montano, 21, who is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in the March 1, 2023 slaying of Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso.
  • Prosecutors contend Montano grabbed his girlfriend’s phone and a weapon during a domestic dispute and fatally shot Lasso after the officer pursued him from a Southwest Side residence.
  • Jurors are expected to view body-worn camera footage from Lasso’s patrol unit, reflecting Chicago’s department-wide camera adoption under reforms prompted by the Laquan McDonald case and the SAFE-T Act.
  • Montano’s trial is the first jury case in a slain Chicago officer’s killing since one of the gunmen in Officer Ella French’s death was convicted late last year.
  • The proceedings come as the Chicago Police Department grieves multiple on-duty fatalities and reviews response protocols for domestic calls and friendly-fire prevention.