...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...told news hounds she "can’t praise" two coppers "enough."
On Monday evening, Swaysee Rankin was shot in the back and stomach. Two officers responding to the scene acted quickly to save his life. Fox News reported:
Jackson said the fact that the officers took Rankin to the hospital in their patrol car instead of waiting for an ambulance "saved his life," adding she plans to get their names and badge numbers so she can thank them properly.
Officers Rhonda Ward and Julius Givens, who were patrolling the Southside neighborhood Monday evening, saw Rankin and realized his wounds were too severe to wait for an ambulance so they carried the boy to their patrol car, WLS-TV in Chicago reported.
"I’m highly grateful for you guys. Thank you that was a wonderful job," Swaysee Rankin’s mother, Ashley Jackson said during a presser.
Givens stayed in the back of the vehicle with Rankin to make sure he stayed awake. "He was in and out of consciousness, so we were trying to keep him alive and keep him up," the officer said.
Jackson was relieved to find out that her son did not sustain any long-term injuries and that the family is "praying for a speedy recovery" as he goes through surgery.
"This violence has definitely got to stop immediately," she said, noting that her son’s 14-year-old cousin was also shot. "These kids do not deserve it. These are babies laying in these hospital beds."
Rankin’s cousin is also expected to recover.
Officer Ward stated that "it was just heartwarming for me that I could actually save a life because that’s what I got on this job to do."