Growing up, Rafael Wordlaw dreamed of working in law enforcement. Looking out at the sea of officers and family members who attended his funeral Friday, his cousin was proud to say he accomplished his goal.
“He was a hero. He was a protector, and he died being a hero and being a protector,” said Tiffany Davenport. “He fulfilled his dreams of becoming a sheriff. That’s all he wanted to do, and I’m so proud of him. I’m just glad he’s resting in peace.”
Hundreds of Wordlaw’s family and friends, many wearing red in honor of his favorite color, filtered into St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Harvey Friday morning to pay their respects to the Cook County sheriff’s deputy. They remembered Wordlaw as hardworking, fashionable and family-oriented.
Wordlaw, 31, of the Englewood neighborhood, was off-duty when he was fatally shot last month during a robbery attempt-turned shootout at a gas station in Woodlawn. A friend of Wordlaw’s, traveling in a separate vehicle but also at the gas station, suffered two graze wounds.
Cordarrow Thompson, 32, was charged last week with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted armed robbery and one count of armed habitual criminal in Wordlaw’s death. Prosecutors accused Thompson of attempting to rob Wordlaw’s friend while he was pumping gas.
Wordlaw then opened his vehicle door and fired a shot before Thompson returned fire, prosecutors said, and one of those bullets likely struck Wordlaw’s gun, rendering it useless. Antoinette Ursitti, the Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives, said Thompson fired approximately 69 bullets from two guns during the robbery attempt.
“This is just a horrible senseless loss of an individual who was a hero and was an amazing employee,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Friday morning. “He truly was a hero — he was there to protect people that night, and he was killed.
“This is an insane, insane society we live in where somehow someone with two guns fires 69 rounds in the course of seconds, and somehow we aren’t racing to our legislatures to change things,” Dart continued. “We must do more. We owe it to his family.”
Wordlaw aspired to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps with a career in law enforcement, according to his obituary shared at the funeral. He graduated from high school at Urban Prep Charter Academy, where he served as a mentor to young men after graduation.
He then received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana State University. He worked as a security guard before starting with the sheriff’s office as a deputy officer at Cook County Jail in 2020, the obituary said.
The obituary also said Wordlaw had a “charismatic and fun personality,” that he made lots of friends and made sure to stay up to date with the latest fashion trends.
Davenport said she talked with Wordlaw almost every day, calling him a dedicated family man.
“We’re a very family-oriented family. We’re all about family,” she said. “Whatever get-together we can have, whatever holidays we’re together, we’re gonna make it happen. Whatever trips, we’re gonna make it happen together. We’re going to stick together like we’re doing right now.”
“He was always our protector, always,” added Lena Webber, another of Wordlaw’s cousins, saying she “loved him so much.”