Page 40 - June 2017 Newsletter

Sounding off
Chicago Police Pipes & Drums turns Police Week upbeat
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n PHOTOS BY AMBER RAMUNDO AND LYNN CRONQUIST
Tom Cunningham played with gusto and bravado, pushing the riveting tones of “Bells of Dunblane” from his bagpipes on this Sunday morning. In his final perfor- mance as an active officer with the Chicago Police Pipes & Drums band, Cunningham poured all 29 years on the job to work the pipes’ magic of radiating all at once festive yet sad sounds that honor fallen officers and celebrate the renown of coppers everywhere.
The Chicago Police band highlighted the National Pipes & Drums competition that served as a show-stop- ping opening act for the National Honor Guard event in front of the U.S. Capitol, and the CPD band offered a bril- liant accompaniment to National Police Week. Its set of “Minstrel Boy” and “When Pipers Play” bookending “Bells of Dunblane” brought harmony – along with a memora- ble beat – to the thousands of law enforcers who came to Washington for this week of blessed events.
“When you hear the pipes and drums, you come to at- tention, and it’s a great aspect of policing,” describes Cun- ningham, who retired on May 15, the day after the com-
40 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2017
petition. “It’s a calling for all the cops that play. They put a lot of time into it and it pays off on days like today.”
It was nearly 20 years ago that day when the Chicago Po- lice Pipes & Drums band began to play. In 1999, members of the band started coming to Washington, D.C. for Na- tional Police Week to be part of the Pipe Band Parade that begins at the famed Kelly’s Irish Times pub and marches to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. In 2011, the Chicago band began competing when the com- petition that draws hundreds of fans to the Capitol, start- ed. The group finished second that year.
This year’s performance earned third place behind the Emergency Services Pipes and Drums of Austin, Texas, which played a special tribute to the Dallas officers killed in the tragic ambush in July 2016, and the U.S. Border Patrol band, which has won the competition more times than any other group. Cunningham observed that the band nailed its performance, but winning the competi- tion wasn’t really the objective.
“You want to put on a great show, especially for some- thing so important,” explained piper Kevin Tuttle, the leaders of this year’s performance who has been with the band for seven of his 10 years on the job. “I’m very