Nathan Horton, a long-time friend and neighbor of the house where the officer grew up, said the officer "was a really good" basketball player on school teams in both elementary school and North Chicago High School.



Horton said his neighbor has always been an outgoing guy, "quick to approach people as a friend, and someone who always helped people out."



"This is a bad neighborhood and some kids were climbing over the fence in our backyard, and it was [the officer] who talked to the kids and told them to stay away," Horton said.



Horton said the officer was not known to be a reckless driver in the close-knit, dead end section of houses in the North Chicago neighborhood.



"He rides a motorcycle and if he was a drinker, he wasn't one around here," Horton said. "I never saw him at the local parties and I never saw him intoxicated."



"Honestly, when he became a cop I was surprised because you have to be a physical person to be a cop, and he was a helpful guy but never the type of guy to be confrontational or intimidating," Horton said.