Page 24 - FOP Magazine March 2019

Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
‘The decision to do the right thing’
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
At 39, and with a son about to start college, Donald Smith questioned whether it was the right time to become a police officer. The Chicago native had an interest in law enforcement ever since he studied administrative justice at Southern Illinois University. But when the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) offered him a well-paying job straight out of college, Smith couldn’t say no.
What started as a temporary first job quickly turned into a 15-year career with the CTA. Smith moved up the ladder, working as a CTA supervisor and eventually an overseer in the control unit. But he knew he had yet to find his calling.
“I always wanted to take the test for the CPD, but I post- poned it,” Smith recalls. “I had put it off for so long. Some- thing told me to finally go do it.”
There were many times
when Smith questioned
whether he was doing the
right thing by starting a new
career just as his firstborn son began college. Smith’s
wife, Kimberly, also wasn’t sold on the idea and made
her opinion known, as Smith left his position at the CTA
to start a new path. No matter how uncertain Smith was, some- thing within him pushed him to take the risk.
“The first day of the academy, I was very skeptical,” Smith ad- mits. “But there were two people in my class that were my age and one gentleman who was older. That was my challenge right there. I felt that if they could do it, so could I.”
On July 30, 2001, Smith was hired to the Chicago Police De- partment in the 002 District, where he has remained for the en- tirety of his career. It didn’t take long for Smith and his wife to discover the benefits of law enforcement, as Smith was sudden- ly given the flexibility of working midnights to be with his fam- ily during the day. The lack of passion that Smith experienced working with the CTA also faded away, as Smith found himself in a position to make a difference.
“I don’t look at people as criminals,” he says. “People make bad decisions, that doesn’t make them bad people.”
Smith’s determination to look out for the well-being of others
once led him and his partner to rescue numerous families from a burning building on Prairie Avenue. The two offi- cers were the first on scene and didn’t hesitate to run into the six-unit apartment build- ing and evacuate before it was engulfed in flames.
Some of Smith’s most re- markable work, though, has come from the small ges- tures he makes on a daily basis to clothe, feed and look out for the less fortunate on the streets of Chicago. On one chilly fall morning, Smith went as far as to of- fer the shoes off his own feet to a homeless man walking around with slippers made out of cardboard and string.
“I got out of my car and gave him my boots,” Smith shares. “He needed them more than I did.”
In 2017, after working in the 002 CAPS Unit, Smith re- turned to the streets as a foot officer. Smith now walks the beat on 47th Street, looking out for pedestrians commut-
ing to work and deterring crime in the neighborhood. Smith relishes the opportunity to reach young people who might otherwise feel forced into joining gangs or sell-
ing drugs to make a living.
“It can be a challenge because you’re taking away their means
of making money,” Smith shares. “But I still have a job to do. It’s not fair for the people waiting for the train to be subjected to these young guys trying to sell them cigarettes and marijuana all day.”
Smith’s success as the 47th Street beat cop comes down to one thing: respect. Ever since he started the position, Smith has taught criminals and gang members the value of respecting one another. This technique has helped members of the community to see Smith as a human being who is simply doing his job to protect them.
“I don’t look down on people. I don’t think I’m better than people,” Smith says. “Matter of fact, what I try to teach them is, ‘I am the same as you.’ That’s how I relate with them on the street. I am you. Nothing is handed to you in life. You just have to make the decision to do the right thing.”
DONALD SMITH Star #10549
24 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2019