Bryant Brewer guilty in 2010 shooting death of CPD officer Thor Soderberg

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A judge found Bryant Brewer guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 shooting death of Chicago Police Officer Thor Soderberg.

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy was in the courtroom with the officer's widow when the judge announced the guilty verdict Tuesday night.

"Speaking for widows everywhere, it doesn't take away the pain. It doesn't erase the difficulty of going on with life," Jennifer Loudon said.

There was justice, but little comfort for the widow of Chicago police officer Thor Soderberg. She was surrounded by a small army of police officers as the judge announced the guilty verdict against Bryant Brewer.

A little more than five years ago, Brewer approached Soderberg in the parking lot of a police deployment center in Englewood, grabbed his gun and fired three times.

Brewer claimed it was self-defense and his lawyer argued he was mentally ill, but on the stand last week, Brewer testified he was proud of being a cop killer.

"He has a four-year history of schizophrenia in Cermak. You've heard extensive cross-examination of doctors regarding his behavior in Cermak," said William Wolf, Cook County assistant public defender.

Soderberg was a decorated officer and assigned to a unit to tackle youth violence. On Tuesday night, his widow said she's satisfied with the verdict.

"My whole goal through this was to make sure no one else would have to go through my family and I have had to through. And that is he would not be able to hurt anyone else again and I believe we achieved that today," Loudon said.

Brewer will be sentenced in September. He faces a possibility of life in prison.

He's already locked up in maximum security at the Cook County Jail after threatening several guards.