Page 23 - June2021

Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
n BY ROSEMARY AN
Chicago Police Department Bureau of Counterterrorism Unit 189 Officer Jason Bala is on his way to becoming a legend.
Bala, 42, had always wanted to be a law enforcement officer. His parents, both immigrants, were proud to support his dream. He is a third-generation military service member who was in the Marine Corps from 1997 to 2001. Then he took several police ex- ams throughout Illinois before being offered a position with CPD in 2002.
“I’m glad that my parents gave me the upbringing that I had,” Bala says. “They helped me find a passion for what I would like to do with my life and make a career out of it.”
In his 19 years of service, Bala has worked in a variety of depart- ments: He started in the 14th dis- trict, then the Targeted Response Unit, Wicker Park Detail Unit, 14th District Gang Team, Area Five Gang Team and Gang En- forcement Division, until he went to Unit 189.
Bala remembers coming on the job and learning from leg- ends like retired officers Parris George, Ken Trempe and Eduar- do Escalante, as well as current bosses within the department.
“I was fortunate enough to learn from people who
received that label through the department,” Bala says.
“And that’s just from their peers. When I started off, [peo-
ple were] like, ‘Hey, these guys know what they’re doing, learn from them.’”
Bala’s mentors were Vietnam War veterans who switched their lifestyles once they came on in the ’70s and ’80s. In hindsight, one valuable lesson stands out from the others.
“They would tell me, ‘Hey kid, all this stuff is changing,’” Bala re- calls. “’Policing is changing in this day and the next.’ And this was in 2002.”
And change it did. In the last nearly two decades, Bala has seen a new era of policing: police accountability.
“Every department is trying to grab a hold of [police accountabil- ity],” Bala notes. “We have to start holding police accountable. We have to change, train and everything else.”
As an officer who deals with gang- and drug-related incidents, Bala conducts search warrants regularly. The process for search
warrants may have changed, but the most important part of polic- ing — his passion — has not.
“We have altered the way we do [search warrants], but I still enjoy being an officer,” Bala says. “I’m still on the street, I’m still working really hard and I have a passion for what I do.”
That desire to serve combined with the gifts of knowledge from past legends helped Bala to be- come a mentor himself. When working with younger officers, he strives to teach them how to po- lice the right way.
“I love when I work with young- er officers and they’re like, ‘Hey, I really learned a lot from you,’” Bala says. “I say, ‘Listen, this is how you properly do things if you want to be the ‘working police.’”
He also urges younger officers to remember the reason they came on the job, despite the new era of police accountability and reform.
“You can’t let police reform change the beliefs that you have,” Bala says. “At least, I’m not letting it change [mine]. The courage, the compassion, the bravery and all that good stuff. You can’t let re- form and everything else put you on the back-burner, even if it’s a little stressful.”
Bala emphasizes the importance of working with a team. He’s worked as part of a team for 17 out of the 19 years on the job. He and six team members are going on their 13th year of working together, so he believes having the right partner is key.
“Birds of a feather flock together,” Bala says. “I’ve had some real- ly great partners. That’s key because you’re going to have the same workout day, be in the same car for hours in and out and going to court together.”
Bala plans to retire at 55 years old with 31 years on the job. He hopes to walk into retirement leaving a solid legacy in place.
“I read something that said, ‘Your legacy is yours for the keeping, it’s to share these stories for generations to come,’” Bala says. “And I believe that. Because I always run into retired [officers] at these re- tiree ceremonies and dinners, and everyone’s sitting around talking about past stories [on the job].”
And one day, he hopes to be considered a legend like his mentors.
“I have three children,” Bala says. “And if they ever decided to be- come law enforcement officers, I would love for them to hear, ‘Hey, your dad’s a legend.’”
‘Learn from them’
JASON BALA
Star #9112 Unit 189
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2021 23