He was. He's the nephew of a friend of ours. It's a real loss to the whole city, as well as the family.
This happened a few blocks from where I work. It was crazy around here for awhile.
The outpouring of support from both Chicago PD and Chicago Fire Dept. was far beyond the words I have in my vocabulary to describe. The streets were lined with police and fire dept paying tribute and hundreds escorted his body to the morgue.
It was quite moving. By all accounts, Paul Bauer was a man's man and a cop's cop. A real stand-up guy. Left behind a wife and an 11 year old daughter.
I'll tel you this: when they have a fundraiser for his family I'll be there and contribute. If we know anything about the Chicago PD, when they lose one of their family, they embrace those left behind and make darn sure they're taken care of.