CHICAGO (CBS) — This was not an accident.
That’s what the family of a Chicago police officer, shot and killed allegedly by his wife, also a Chicago cop, is saying.
They protested outside of her court hearing this morning. CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reports they think the justice system is going light on her.
Officer Jacqueline Villaseñor is out on bond, charged within involuntary manslaughter in the death of her husband. But the family said the incident shouldn’t be treated as one big accident and it could have been prevented.
Forty-four-year-old German Villaseñor was given a solemn hero’s send off earlier this month. At his funeral, his parents, granted a brief entry into the U.S. from Mexico, were presented with a Chicago flag. His heartbroken fellow officers served as pallbearers.
But following close behind down the aisle was the person who prosecutors said was responsible for pulling the trigger. His wife, fellow officer Jacqueline Villaseñor.
“Since they told me and I came inside the house I saw the room and no, this is not an accident, no. They need to be justice.”
German’s aunt, Blanca Niña, said she questions the account told in court — that Jacqueline and German were in their bedroom on November 2, arguing over a recent affair, when she grabbed her weapon from her holster and threatened to kill herself.
Prosecutors said German tried to grab the weapon, and the couple began struggling, when the gun went off, and German was shot in the chest. It appeared Jacqueline had been drinking alcohol, but she declined to be tested.
“She needs to be held accountable and she need to be locked up, plain and simple.”
German’s uncle, Genaro Martinez, was stunned by the charge of involuntary manslaughter — and the fact that she paid $5,000 to bond out without electronic monitoring.
“We’re asking that she should have an ankle monitor on her. If they know alcohol was involved there should be an ankle monitor on her. Again, investigating to the fullest extent of the law.”
Julie Contreras with the community organization United Giving Hope worries that German, a person of color, wouldn’t have been treated the same way if the roles were reversed. They’re planning to watch the case closely. As will some of German’s fellow officers, who stood by in solidarity.
“This was criminal activity that she did and that’s unacceptable,” Martinez said.
A spokesperson for the Cook County States Attorney’s Office said she was unable to comment as the case is pending litigation. Villaseñor was back in court Tuesday where the case was continued to December 2.
German’s family said they are planning to stand outside again — this time in prayer.