St. Jude Memorial March honors fallen officers

CHICAGO (WLS) -- About 2,000 Chicago police officers gathered in Museum Campus Sunday morning for the annual St. Jude Memorial March to honor officers killed in the line of duty.

Families of fallen officers say the annual march is a meaningful, moving moment for them. So far this year five officers have been shot in the line of duty, one of them earlier this week.

"It does my heart well to see all the officers out here because we do have to pay respect to our fallen. That's a very important thing, that we've lost a few officers but what they've done for the city of Chicago means a lot to everybody," says Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

The march is particularly important to the Gold Star Family Unit, which helps families of CPD officers killed in the line of duty after their death.

The march also kicks off National Police Memorial Month. Some of the officers participating in the march on Sunday will head to Washington, D.C., and participate in a national ceremony honoring fallen officers later in May.