Page 5 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

CHICAGO LODGE # 7 lÑÑáÅá~ä j~Ö~òáåÉ
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
DEAN C. ANGELO, SR.
President
RAY CASIANO, JR.
First Vice President
Frank DiMaria Second Vice President Daniel D. Gorman Third Vice President Greg Bella Recording Secretary Kevin Kilmer Financial Secretary John Capparelli Treasurer
Bill Nolan Immediate Past President John Dineen Parliamentarian
Sergeants-at-Arms
Bill Burns
Al Francis, Jr. James E. Moriarty, Jr.
Trustees
Robert Rutherford, Chairman Dean Angelo, Jr.
Mark Donahue
Pat Duckhorn
Sergio Escobedo Kathleen Gahagan Michael Garza Joseph Gentile
Ken Hauser
Tom Lonergan
Kevin McNulty Landry Reeves
Inez Riley
Jay Ryan
Steve Schorsch
Ron Shogren
Daniel Trevino
Field Reps
Keith Carter Marlon Harvey Thomas McDonagh
Magazine Committee Members
Greg Bella, Chair Joseph Gentile Bill Burns Thomas McKenna Michael Carroll Reggie Smith
President’s Report
THE THIN BLUE LINE ...addressing the recent fallacies
Enough already! As the accusatory rhetoric contin- ues, inaccurate statements abound. If things weren’t so upside down and serious, what some say about polic- ing in general, and specifi- cally the women and men of the Chicago Police Depart- ment, would be hysterical. But things are too serious
parents, children and friends who have buried a loved one who was killed in the line of duty know what The Thin Blue Line means. Those of us who look at the revered symbol that appears on the cover of this month’s magazine as an image of honor, pride and remembrance shake our collective heads when subjected to the regular misrepresentation of The Thin Blue Line. The nightly news reports, daily newspaper articles, pulpit sermons, council chamber rants, state legislator tirades and national campaign speeches are ALL off base.
DEAN C. ANGELO, SR.
and too much is at risk. While growing up in households that were more or less nor- mal (some more, some less), most of us were exposed to environments that offered opportunities to learn a thing or two. Depending on the household or the lesson, some took stock in what was learned; others struggled to learn a single thing. Some learned well and some not so well. Even those who struggled most came away with the most basic of lessons learned. A lesson that most of us learned early on seemed to be as easy as they come: “When you don’t know what you are talking about, you are better off not saying anything.” Another slightly differ- ent version offers the same outcome: “When you have nothing nice to say about someone, you are better off not saying any- thing.” It’s obvious that some of us have learned these life-lessons more than oth- ers.
The Thin Blue Line has always been something we in policing use as a way to commemorate the heroes whose names appear on our Memorial Walls. We are The Thin Blue Line when we protect those who cannot protect themselves. We are The Thin Blue Line when the rioters are storming the doors, burning businesses and terrorizing the cities and towns of America. We are The Thin Blue Line that keeps the criminal element from com- pletely taking over every corner in every neighborhood. We are The Thin Blue Line when we shield the children from bullies, abusive parents and pedophiles. We are The Thin Blue Line when we care for the physically, emotionally and sexually abused spouse. We are The Thin Blue Line when we recover millions of dollars of deadly narcotics every year. We are The Thin Blue Line when we remove tens of thousands of guns off of our streets each and every year. Where would we be with- out The Thin Blue Line?
The purpose of this issue’s Lodge 7 Magazine cover focuses on a particular misnomer being used to discredit the women and men of the CPD, as well as the entire law enforcement profession. What is the true meaning behind these four words: “The Thin Blue Line?” What does The Thin Blue Line represent to us? Those who have ever donned a police uniform, and left their family not knowing if they would return, know what The Thin Blue Line means. The spouses,
The Thin Blue Line symbol has never had anything to do with what has become the most recent blast to our ranks: the “code of silence.” When the uninformed desperately attempt to connect the dots
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2016
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