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They came, they saw, they honored
Chicago Police Officers feel the power of attending National Police Week
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n PHOTOS BY AMBER RAMUNDO
To fully comprehend the sensation of National Police Week, follow the lead of Unit 341 K9 Officer Sal Perez. After 31 years of serving the Department and with one year until retirement, Perez made his first trip to Washington D.C. for Police Week this year.
“I wanted to come and pay my respects,” Perez professed.
A career that requires so much giving paid Perez back during three days in May. As he waited for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service to begin, he stood side by side with many of his sisters and brothers from Chicago and throughout the na- tion. They formed the cordon through which families of fallen officers entered the event on the lawn in front of the U.S. Cap- itol.
This apparently was a moment that Perez worked and waited 31 years to experience.
“The energy here is phenomenal,” he continued. “I can’t wait to share it with all the new recruits and tell them they have to start coming and show representation for the City of Chicago.”
Respect, remembrance and honor is why so many officers come to Police Week. Recognition, reinforcement and honor are what they come home with.
“My partner finally convinced me to come,” acknowledged Christian Ramirez, who has worked in the 25th District for the past 12 years and also made his first Police Week pilgrimage this year. “I wish I could come every year. All these officers, the ca- maraderie, it’s great.”
His partner is Edward Stancin, who has volunteered to come to Police Week for the past 10 years. Stancin has worked in 025 the past seven years. Before that, Stancin worked in 007, which lost three officers while he was on the job there: Thor Soderberg and Thomas Wortham in 2010 and Alejandro Valadez in 2009.
He feels the importance of paying his respect every year.
“When you lose somebody who is close to you or somebody that you worked with, you kind of feel that special connection.” Stancin explained. “I feel like I represent the City, and I feel like I represent the families and the people who can’t make it out here.”
The first big event during Police Week, which attracts 20,000 family members of fallen officers, law enforcement from across the country and a mass of police supporters, is the Candlelight Vigil. The event used to be held at the National Law Enforce- ment Officers Memorial, between the walls where the names of the 21,000 officers lost in the line of duty are inscribed.
But the Vigil has grown so big that is now held on the Na- tional Mall, with the Capitol in the foreground and the Wash- ington Monument providing a backdrop. The Monument
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Chicago Police Officers Cesar Valdez (left) and Dimitrios Mavropoulos salute as family members of fallen officers arrive at the U.S. Capitol for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the Candlelight Vigil.
President Trump addresses the crowd at the National Peace Officers Memo- rial Service.
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