Page 25 - November 2018

P traits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
Taking it all in stride
n BY LISA ARCELLA
Jason Venegas isn’t the sort of guy who loves being in the spotlight. In fact, he typically underplays the drama he fac- es every night while patrolling the midnight shift in 008.
“I’ve been around, and of course there’ve been some tough moments,” he says when asked if he’s ever been afraid for his life during his 16 years as a police officer. “I don’t know one cop who doesn’t want to come home at the end of a shift, but you just go and do the job. I could nev- er see myself in a 9-to-5 desk job. I was born and raised in Chicago, and this job has tak- en me to so many different parts of the City that I didn’t know before. I see the rich and the poor. You see those who are making it and you see those who are just making it day by day. Here we are meet- ing all of these people who are calling us for assistance. I just try to help anyone who is in need.”
That’s not to say that his
wife, Maria, takes her hus-
band’s safety for granted.
“Yeah,” Venegas laughs. “She
always worries and tells me to be safe and come home to the kids.”
The 41-year-old father of two (ages 2 and 3) says
one of the perks of the job is that he gets to see his kids every morning. He says he never tires of getting back in his patrol car every night.
“I guess I have a level of idealism,” he says. “If I can’t change the world, at least I can make it better for the evening. Our job is to serve the community and to protect. My philosophy is to start out simply and take it from there and try to figure out how to help. I like to get to really know the people where I am working — the good and the bad — and I think that
makes a difference in how you do the job.”
Venegas says he has been fortunate enough not to have been involved in a shooting, but he does recall one episode where he felt like his life was threatened. “I have had to run into a few burning buildings to try and get people out,” he says. “Once my partner and I were driving, and we smelled a strange burning odor like a bonfire. When we were cruis- ing down the alley, we saw a garbage can on fire that set the back of the house on fire. We called for assistance and tried to get whoever was inside out. By the time I reached the third floor, the flames were already coming up. We got everyone out and said, ‘It’s time to go!’”
The officer says he consid- ers himself part police officer and part psychologist.
“I think that’s a big part of the job,” he explains. “You sometimes get people where no actual physical crime has been committed. Maybe they are having an argument
about something. You wouldn’t believe some of the things they call the police for. It can be over some really minor thing that obviously has been escalat- ing from things that happened earlier. We try to be cool and collected about it and tell them that whatever they are arguing about at 2 a.m. will still be there at 9 a.m. if it’s really
important.
“You are dealing with people at a very emotional time of
their lives, whatever is happening to them in that moment, and I think it’s our job to keep things calm. I just try to take it all in stride.” d
JASON VENEGAS Star# #11915
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2017 25