CPD Officer Aréanah Preston remembered as "a bright and blazing star"

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, the senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, repeatedly remembered Officer Preston as "a phenomenal woman."

"A city today must pause to salute a servant; the faithful pause to honor a child of God; a family pauses to reminisce over the beauty of a baby girl," he said. "We invoke her name and all she means. I say means, not meant, but all she means; for she is with us in memory, in spirit, and in love, and her work shall be forever engraved upon our hearts."

Quoting poet Maya Angelou, Moss said "Black women who navigate life with dignity, character, style and swagger must be celebrated."

Moss said what made Preston phenomenal was her character; pointing to Preston's efforts to care for her grandparents, hang out with her fellow officers, working at her mother's daycare, and preparations to join the FBI.

"What you do when no one else is looking is character," he said. "For those of the digital generation, character is forged between your posts. It is not upon IG, but it is what happens before. It is in the quiet moments, and in those quiet moments we witnessed character."

Calling her an inspiration to her fellow officers, Moss also said she was the product of a "phenomenal family."

"We thank you and give God praise for you for blessing us. Her impact shall not end here," he said. "We give God praise for this phenomenal woman, for this phenomenal family, for the phenomenal service, for the phenomenal blessing. Can we not give God praise for our phenomenal sister, our phenomenal officer, this phenomenal woman? We thank God for the blessing of a phenomenal woman on this day."

Officer Preston's mother, Dionne Mhoon, called her daughter "confident, determined, brave, smart, outgoing, beautiful, witty, loyal, generous, genuine, quaint, attentive, funny, giving, youthful, fashionable, unforgettable, and the ray of light."

"A few words to describe my baby, yet there will never be enough to define just how much of a sunflower Aréanah Makayla Preston truly was to us as parents and family, and now the world," she added.

"I was determined to invest in her so that, in return, she invested in the world, and Aréanah did just that. She did more than I could even imagine. When people say you did an awesome job as a mother, that speaks volumes to me. It is so heartwarming to see just the impact she had on the city of Chicago and beyond," she added.

Describing their family as a "Brady Bunch family," Preston's stepfather, Terrence Mhoon, recalled how Aréanah made it a habit to hug every one of them every day.

"I've told her many a times there's too many of us, but she finds a way to hug us all; every morning when she leaves, she hugs us all," he said.

A group of Preston's fellow 5th District officers described her as "a ray of light to all of us."

"To know her is to love her. When she walked into the station, the room would light up. She made sure her presence was known by walking up to everyone and giving them a hug, which is how she got the nickname Princess P."

Remembering how Aréanah jokingly called them "her aunties," Preston's fellow officers said they lovingly called her "little baby."

"Aréanah was more than a co-worker. She was a friend; someone who you could talk to about anything. She was resilient, courageous, embodied integrity, and most certainly she demanded respect. Aréanah was a firecracker, and had a witty comeback for everything and everyone."

"We are going to miss our dear friend; miss the way she would sing and dance to everything; always referencing a TikTok that she's seeing; and how she could make you laugh when you're feeling down."

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took office just two days ago, said the city needs to make sure that the "unspeakable tragedy that took her from her family" does not define who Officer Preston was.

Johnson said he can't imagine the family's pain, but assured them they have the full support of his administration and the entire city.

"From everything I've read about Aréanah, it's not that she was just bright and talented, but a very compassionate human being," he said.

Calling Preston and her fellow officers "the righteous standard" of serving the city, Johnson said Preston devoted her life "to the very principles of justice and peace."

"So now she gets to rest in that peace," he said.

Johnson said, although the city has a lot of work to do to "restore hope and promise," and address its problems with crime, "I'm confident that Aréanah's example is how we get at the root causes of violence in the city."

The mayor said Preston's life "teaches us the importance of doing the right thing, especially when it's hard."

"Officer Preston, though her watch has ended, her dedication to justice and her commitment to serving this city will live forever," he added.

Describing Officer Preston as "a bright and blazing star," former Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her death "feels particularly painful," because she was only 24.

"Many of us have thought that she was just a baby, and in fact as you've heard and you've read, Officer Preston was by all accounts wise beyond her years," Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot said Preston had "a vision for criminal justice that was fair, trustworthy, and a system that truly would serve the people of this city."

The former mayor said Officer Preston went out of her way to meet with people who had previously spent time in prison to learn from them and use their experience to help her better understand her job as an officer.

Lightfoot said when she first met Preston's family after her death, her mother was "drowning in disbelief and grief and devastation."

"I wanted you to see and know and feel mother to mother that you had poured everything into your daughter to make sure that she had the opportunities and the promise that you could only have dreamed of, and you saw in your precious child all that hope and promise coming into reality," she added.

Lightfoot also said she will make sure her own daughter sees Preston as a role model.

"Aréanah Preston is what we want our daughters to be," she added. "We dream of raising young, Black girls who become strong and fearless, determined and of course kind and giving. We dream of raising Black girls who see the world in all of its nuances, and equip themselves to make a difference, despite the complexities. We dream of raising Black girls who would change the world with their choices, and Aréanah chose to change the world through wearing the badge and protecting, and serving her beloved city."

Former interim CPD Supt. Eric Carter said "it just doesn't seem fair" that Officer Preston's life was cut so short.

"Anyone who knew her describes her exactly as her family does – sincere and thoughtful; witty, well-organized, and goal-oriented; and outgoing and definitely a ray of sunshine. She brightened every room she walked into, and put a smile on everyone's face. Her presence was unmistakable and she was unforgettable," Carter said.

Carter said he first met Preston when she and his daughter were on the same cheerleading squad.

"What made her a great cheerleader and a teammate, and later an exceptional police officer, was the fact that everyone mattered to her. She treated everyone with the same dignity, kindness, and respect; even way back then," he said.

When Preston decided to become a police officer, Carter said her mother was worried, not about her ability to do the job, but her small stature, "and how she would be perceived on the streets."

"She didn't want Aréanah to get taken advantage of, because of that size, but Dionne would tell you there's something about Aréanah. When she set her mind to something, she never gave up, and she never gave in. She set up goals, and she achieved every one of them," he said. "Her work ethic was unmatched."

Carter also said Preston "always got the job done. She got it done Aréanah's way."

"We will always be blessed by her life and her service, and we will never forget our daughter, our sister, Officer Aréanah Preston," he added.

Officer Preston's commanding officer, 5th (Calumet) District Cmdr. Tyrone Pendarvis, said after Preston's death, her mother told him "She didn't think she could be the police. She was so small, quiet. She didn't think it should happen."

"I said, are we talking about the same person?" he said.

Pendarvis recalled, when he first arrived at the 5th District, Preston "wouldn't allow me to pass her without speaking."

"She introduced herself and said, 'I want you to know this name with this face. That's who I am,'" he said. "She put me right in my place, and let me know, 'Hey, you're just the commander, but I am Aréanah.'"

"She wasn't alone with us. We looked out for her," he added. "Every one of my guys, we look out for, and we look out for each other. We are a family."

Clinical psychologist Dr. Alexis Reynolds works to provide resources to first responders. She joined CBS 2 ahead of the funeral for fallen officer Aréanah Preston.

Officer Preston's mother, Dionne Mhoon, fellow CPD officers, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot are among those expected to pay tribute at her funeral. 

A letter Officer Aréanah Preston's mother wrote to her late daughter is part of the funeral program, saying "I am eternally grateful and thankful that God placed me in your life as your mother. You had a purpose driven life that I will continue, I PROMISE!!"

CBS 2's Mugo Odigwe is reporting live outside Trinity United Church of Christ, where friends and family will gather for the funeral of officer Aréanah Preston.

Blue ribbons are wrapped around trees to honor Preston.