Page 22 - November2018

Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Damian Dambra is con- stantly on a mission to ac- complish the next best thing. It started as soon as he grad- uated from college with a de- gree in political science and pre-law and decided that he wanted to open up his own restaurant. The young pro- fessional thankfully followed his father’s advice that told him to get to know every facet of running a restaurant before opening one up of his own.
Five years later, Dambra’s career goals shifted to the business world. But still, he was convinced he could do better and decided to take the police test in 2006.
“I had to get all of these jobs out of my system to find out what I really wanted,” Dambra reasons. “I always had law enforcement in the back of my mind.”
Dambra quickly realized that police work was a lot dif- ferent than the other jobs he had tried when he fell short of passing the physical fit- ness test by two sit-ups and was forced to wait six months to try again.
“I realized that you could be as nice as you wanted, but it came down to if you could do the job or not,” he explains. “My father taught me to be resilient. I came back stronger and faster for the next time.”
DAMIAN DAMBRA Star #15842
ter so many attempts, Dam- bra’s resilience has led him to keep trying.
“Once I have my mind on something, I just go after it,” Dambra says. “I think that’s one of the main reasons I’m able to keep grinding.”
Dambra also applies his determination to goals out- side of the job, like his focus on nutrition and fitness, as well as the time he commits to helping his wife’s business working for Allstate thrive.
Everyone who works for Dambra in the 020 knows how hard he works and how badly he wants to join the SWAT team. The support they have given Dambra along the way is just anoth- er reason why he considers himself part of one big fam- ily, with individuals who are always encouraging each other to succeed.
“My team keeps me go- ing,” Dambra says. “I’ve put a lot of time into myself to grow and get better, and I think that that will pay off.”
Whatever the future brings for Dambra, he will always be proud of being part of
Goal getter
Dambra was hired to the Chicago Police Department on May 19, 2008 and was assigned to the 015. No matter where the job has taken him, from the 015, to the 017 to the Mobile Strike Force and even all the way down to the 004th District, Dambra has strived to become a better officer by learning from those he works with.
“Having people around you who are better than you is always helpful,” Dambra says. “Overcoming adversity is important to me.”
Aspiring to overcome challenges and take his role in law en- forcement one step further has led Dambra to try out for the SWAT team four times. While others may give up on a goal af-
22 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2018
the CPD family. Whether he is controlling crowds at protests or patrolling outside concert venues, Dambra likes recognizing faces of other officers he has worked with throughout the city and knowing that they are working togeth- er. Dambra is confident that his brothers and sisters in law en- forcement can help each other through any challenges, even if
it means cracking a few jokes on the job to lighten the mood. “There’s a lot of ways to get through this stuff and help one
another,” Dambra notes. “For me, it’s humor.”
Humor may be one of the reasons the CPD officers working
in the 020 have such a strong camaraderie, but as Dambra pre- pares to take the SWAT test once more, he’s all business. And he knows that his team will support him no matter what happens.
“We all encourage and help each other,” Dambra stresses. “Work takes work. If it was easy, they would call it something else.”