Chicago police officer John Pham describes going from everyday citizen to officer of the law in a matter of seconds.

Lake View, IL

By Tim Moran (Patch Staff) – July 12, 2016 8:16 pm ET

Chicago, IL – The off-duty police officer who helped capture two people in connection with a Sunday mugging of a senior citizen in Lake View penned a powerful letter shared by the Chicago Police Department on Facebook the next day. 

Officer John Pham, who was not named by the department in the post but by DNAinfo Chicago in an article, received much praise for his quick actions.

“Thank you for what you do day in and day out….while on duty as well as when you are “off duty”. God bless you and your family!” wrote Donna Ruiz.

Pham described the situation on Barry Street as one that forced him to switch from “being an everyday ordinary citizen walking to get food” to “a Police Officer running to the sound of someone screaming desperate for help.”

He said he witnessed someone “carelessly and aggressively striking an elderly man in the head with a gun multiple times.”

Two men, David S. Shabazz, 20, of the 5400 block of S. Aberdeen and Juwon Askew, 18, of the 200 block of W. Garfield, were charged with the crime.

“The police in Chicago do not get the respect they deserve,” Lawrence Clark wrote. “There (sic) job is very hard because of lack of respect.”