Page 30 - October 2015

The sights and sounds of Coptoberfest 2015 included (Page 30) a presentation honor- ing Danielle Maples (right) and her husband Justin, a fallen officer, with Brotherhood For the Fallen President Rick Caballero (second from right) and Chicago Lodge 7 First Vice-Presi- dent Ray Casiano (second from left); and (clockwise on page 31) great music from several bands; support from sponsors like Combined Insurance; great raffle prizes, the Chicago Police Department Pipes and Drums and the unequivocal support of co-host the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.
duty throughout the U.S. and, now, Canada. Events like Copto- berfest have also helped provide benefits for families. It started with gifting families that lost a loved one a couple hundred dollars, but now Caballero says the benefit is up to $1,000 per family and more.
And the more often has to do with the feelings of support and care both the Brotherhood and the Memorial Foundation pro- mote. Caballero calls this building bridges among law enforce- ment, and he said Coptoberfest furthered that with its draw of coppers from the city, the suburbs and throughout Illinois. There were even some who attended from out of state.
Another highlight from this year’s fest came when Caballero brought up Danielle Maples to the stage. Her husband, Justin Maples, an officer with the Cleveland, Tennessee Police Depart- ment, was lost in the line of duty due to an automobile accident in May 2012. Caballero had met Danielle during Police Week in Washington D.C. and found out that her husband had been a long-time Cubs fans.
So the Brotherhood brought Danielle to Coptoberfest, and the day before escorted her and her three sons to the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field. The Cubs also honored the Maples family, presenting them with gifts, and all of this came about through the Brotherhood.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to take care of many families,” Caballero continued. “We even built bridges to Canada where
we’ve attended funerals because we have seen their guys at ones in the U.S. We’ve told them we’ll always be there. It’s kind of a run- ning joke that we will go as long as we don’t have to take a canoe and a moose to get there.”
The reveling reached a high point at Octoberfest when the Chicago Police Department Pipes and Drums made its way into the festivities.
“It was rocking, and when the bagpipers paraded in, it made me cry,” noted Patty Nolda, an agent for Combined Insurance that was one of the event sponsors. “To watch the emotion and the camaraderie here was very emotional, very touching. The term ‘having each other’s backs’ is an understatement.”
Indeed, Coptoberfest could have been a big backyard family picnic as much as a late-summer fest, though the raffle that accompanied the festivities added another highlight.
Still, the event has taken on such an identity that Caballero actually copyrighted the name. He would like to move to a bigger location, perhaps a rooftop, and attract more bands. There is even talk about staging a pipes and drums competition among depart- ments from across the state and even outside the state.
“There are not many events like this that bring together broth- ers and sisters from different parts of the city and even the county,” Casiano added. “Rick has done a great job and he will continue to carry the torch, reach a lot of people and bring a pos- itive out of what would otherwise be big negative.” d
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