Page 22 - November 2017 Magazine

P traits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
Driven by change
Maurizio Cazarez sits back comfortably in a wooden cafe chair inside a Logan Square pie shop called Bang Bang, draping an arm across the top of another chair.
The Chicago Police Officer’s face lights up as soon as he starts talking about his latest prized acquisition: a 1967 Dodge Polara.
Cazarez – he goes by “Moe” because it’s eas- ier for his fellow offi- cers – leans forward and starts flipping through his cell phone to find a photo of the Dodge. He explains the color is a classic “puke green” that he has always liked, and how the car’s only issue is a “patina” that’s worn on the paint job. It had only one owner for most of its life, and less than 30,000 miles.
Undoubtedly, Caz-
arez is a car guy. He’s
also younger looking
than his 45 years would
suggest, an appearance
bolstered by his youth-
ful energy. Cazarez grew
up not far from the pie
shop on California Ave-
nue and lives in Logan
Square. The business is
new to the area, as are a
lot of people and places
in the gentrifying west
side neighborhood. And
Cazarez has seen the changes over the years.
“This neighborhood has exploded,” Cazarez observes.
Few places in Chicago have gone untouched by change in the 18 years Cazarez has been on the job. He’s spent his career in the 18th District, where he saw hous- ing projects like the infamous Cabrini Green razed. Caza- rez’s expression briefly turns somber when he talks about the projects, which were like fortresses, coming down, he said.
“There were too many bad things going on. Too many
drug sales in one area,” he explains.
Even though it was a good thing the towers were de-
molished, the drug dealers spread out to other neighbor- hoods, he explained.
Clearly, the job has changed for Cazarez who, before becoming a Police Officer, had no ties to law enforcement aside from a grandfather who was a sheriff in Mex- ico years ago. As the sto- ry goes, Cazarez’s grand- father tied his service weapon to its holster to make sure he didn’t lose it. Then, one day, he was spotted walking out of a bar with it dragging along by a string.
Cazarez got into law enforcement in a round- about way. He graduat- ed from Northeastern University with an An- thropology degree. All officers should study anthropology to have a better understanding about different cultures, he believes.
“If you apply that to policing, it makes your job so much easier,” he states.
Cazarez was working in real estate while in college when a co-work- er took the police en-
try exam and got on the job a year later. The co-worker came back to Cazarez after six months on the street and encouraged him to take the test the next time it was offered. The former co-worker told Cazarez he could do a lot of good in the City and said the worst thing that could happen is Cazarez would get the job. So, Cazarez took the exam and started at the acad-
emy in October 1999.
“I never pictured myself as a Police Officer,” Cazarez re-
vealed. “Growing up, the only coppers I knew were big tall white guys.”
MAURIZIO “MOE” CAZAREZ Star# 17968
22 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMER 2016