Page 37 - FOP_Magazine_ February2019

Honor in Art
Philadelphia officer’s portraits honor fallen Chicago brothers
■ BY DAN CAMPANA
The office of Philadelphia Police Department Forensic Composite Artist Jonny Castro features an unmistakable illus- tration of the dangerous realities facing every police officer in this country.
That point is made poignantly with a wall of the faces of of- ficers who died in the line of duty, faces depicted in portraits created by Castro in honor of the fallen. It’s a “Wall of Heroes” that Castro wishes would remain empty.
“The wall is a way to remind everyone that comes into my office of the annual sacrifices made by our officers. At the be- ginning of the year, I took all of the portraits down and started over for 2019,” Castro explained, mentioning that 13 portraits went up in the year’s first month.
Since 2016 — when he created his first portrait to recognize the one-year anniversary of Philadelphia Police Sergeant Rob- ert Wilson’s on-duty death — Castro has completed nearly 400 portraits, 170 of them last year alone. That number includes portraits Castro created to memorialize Chicago Police Com- mander Paul Bauer and Officers Samuel Jimenez, Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo.
“Chicago PD has had a rough year with line-of-duty-deaths. Normally, I may have two from the same department each year, but four in one year is tough to grasp,” Castro said. “I re- member reading how each of the four officers from CPD were responding to dangerous calls when they lost their lives. I did get quite a few messages of gratitude from a few that worked with each of the officers. A framed canvas was overnighted out to Chicago and presented to Commander Bauer’s family by a group of Chicago officers shortly after the incident.”
Castro has been drawing his entire life and described por- traits as his strongest format. He attended Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia before dropping out to join the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks. Castro served as a military police officer with a New York State-based unit. His deployment included time at the Abu Ghraib Prison in 2004 and 2005. After complet- ing his military service, Castro applied with the Philadelphia Police Department, where he has worked since 2006. Before becoming a forensic artist in 2015, Castro spent a total of nine years on patrol, during which he worked plainclothes and tac- tical assignments.
“The past three years working as the department’s forensic composite artist have really helped me in paving the way to help start these portraits of fallen officers. If I was still in patrol, I probably would never have gotten this project started,” he said. “The motivation for this project is knowing this artwork helps families with the grieving process. If it puts a smile on the faces of the people who knew and loved them, that’s really all the motivation I need to keep this going.”
Castro estimates it takes eight to 10 hours to complete each portrait depending on the level of detail — such as ribbons, badges and patches — that he puts on their uniforms. With the
help of a display purchased by his wife, he essentially taught himself how to paint digitally by watching online tutorials. That led him to create Wilson’s portrait and hundreds more ever since, the overwhelming majority of which feature of- ficers whom he never met but feels compelled to pay a final tribute to.
He does it all free of charge. A strong following of 35,000 on Facebook helps spread the word of Castro’s mission, which has also earned him attention from local and national media out- lets.
“The best way people can help is to share the portraits on Facebook. Some agencies that have officers killed in the line of duty are in small towns in the middle of nowhere, so it’s hard trying to get the people in their communities to see them,” Castro said, noting that he hopes to bring the 2018 “Wall of Heroes” to a big stage later this year.
“I plan on building some sort of replica 2018 wall to display at Police Week in Washington D.C.,” Castro shared.
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