“Operation Santa” delivers Christmas presents to families of fallen CPD officers

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago police officers spent Saturday and Sunday keeping their promise to look out for the families of their fallen brothers and sisters while spreading a little Christmas joy.
Santa and Mrs. Claus got a police escort as they delivered presents to the families of fallen officers for this year’s Operation Santa, organized by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.
Officers and their friends and families helped Santa and Mrs. Claus deliver presents and holiday cheer to the families of officers who were killed or critically injured in the line of duty.
Those deliveries meant the world to Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. and his young son. Yanez was wounded in the same shooting that killed Officer Ella French in 2021.
“He’s so excited,” Yanez said of his son’s reaction on Saturday. “I mean, like, the last week-and-a-half he was saying, ‘Santa’s coming with all the police officers,’ and in this quiet neighborhood, it’s amazing when you see all the police officers come, and I’m sure the neighbors are going to be, like, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?'”
The operation continued on Sunday morning, as police escorted Santa to the home of fallen officer Eduardo Marmolejo and the home of his partner, Officer Conrad Gary. The officers were hit and killed by a South Shore Line commuter train while investigating a shots fired call in December of 2018.
Officer Marmolejo’s daughters and his wife, Maria, felt the support from their family in blue during a time of year they need it most.
“Christmas is a hard time,” Maria Marmolejo said. “I lost my husband, I buried him a couple days before Christmas, so it’s always a hard reminder.”
Getting to enjoy some presents from the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation made for a brief break from that hard reminder for the Marmolejo family.
“With everybody out here, it feels like so much support,” Maria Marmolejo said, “hugs on my heart, hugs for my kids.”
She said such care is exactly what her husband would have wanted.
“Just like what Phil [Cline] always says from the Memorial Foundation, if you ask any officer what they would want, they would want their kids to be taken care of,” Marmolejo said.
Santa’s police escort also made a stop at the home of Officer Gary’s family. His daughter was just six months old when he died in the line of duty, and on Sunday, she was all smiles as she got a toy reindeer from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
“You’re never going to be take away that hole that’s gone; that missing person,” said Maria Marmolejo. “Just keep moving forward. Remember your reasons why. Remember the person that left loves you and wants you to live and thrive.”
Operation Santa also stopped by the home of fallen Officer Joey Huerta. He was on duty in November of 2021 when he tested positive for COVID-19. He was admitted to the hospital and treated for bilateral COVID-19 pneumonia and succumbed to the illness just two days before Christmas.
This year, the foundation gave Christmas gifts to 26 children from 20 different families.
This is the 20th year that the Memorial Foundation has held Operation Santa.