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Center at headquarters, didn’t even care what instrument
she played when she decided to join the band in 2001. She only cared about being a part of the mission. At the time, the band was in need of drummers, so she joined the drumline. Attending Police Week for the first time this year added to the many emotional memories that she shares with Emerald Soci- ety officers.
“Some of the best times I’ve had and probably some of the most somber times I’ve had have been with these people,” Ayl- ward admitted.
The band also features talents like Phil Hayman, who has mastered the beat of the drums since he was eight years old. After playing in a rock band for some time while working with CPD, Hayman decided to join his friends in the Emerald Society and apply his experience to a new musical mission.
Other members of the band, like Detective Bill Donnelly, were recruited by Emerald Society veterans who knew that be- ing a part of the pipe band would only enhance their experi- ence serving the City of Chicago. Donnelly is thankful that his fellow detective in Area South happens to be Harmening, who challenged him to join the band seven years ago. Ever since, Donnelly has committed himself to what he sees as his second calling to policing.
“This is absolutely the definition of what we’re supposed to be doing,” Donnelly shared. “It’s an experience I’ll never for- get.”
Sound off
When Harmening announced the set that the Emerald Soci- ety would play at each Police Week event, he had a specific tone in mind.
It’s the job of the pipe major to select the tunes that best fit the mood and mission of each occasion. Some of the many law enforcement functions that the pipe band plays throughout the year are easy for Harmening to decide. A slow and sorrowful “Danny Boy” is sure to move loved ones to tears at a funeral, whereas “America the Beautiful” capitalizes on patriotism and unites everyone in a crowd. But Harmening found that the band’s performance at Police Week’s Candlelight Vigil Ceremo- ny required more careful consideration.
“I know the families are all there for a somber and honorable thing, but we’re all human beings. We can’t only dwell on the bad.” Harmening considered. “We didn’t want to be particularly celebratory, but they need their spirits uplifted too.”
The Emerald Society decided to set a tone that touched upon almost every emotion that a survivor would feel when their loved ones’ names were called, and candles were lit across the National Mall in honor of the fallen.
The set started off with tunes like “Amazing Grace,” that allowed the survivors to mourn and remember, but the band quickly picked up the tempo with Irish songs like “Rakes of Mallow” and “Itchy Fingers.” Sudden clapping of hands and smiling faces signaled to Harmening that the band was accom- plishing the vibe it had deliberately tuned the set for, not only one of grief and honor but of celebration.
For Officer Katie Negley, it was certainly an experience that struck an emotional chord purely through performing at such a powerful event. It was her first time attending Police Week, but even everything she heard from those in the band could not prepare her for the feeling she got while being there.
“There’s no way for you to understand the magnitude of this,” Negley explained after performing at the Candlelight Vigil with only a year of experience playing in the band. “You get a
The Bagpipes & Drums of the Emerald Society Chicago Police Department stands in front of the U.S. Capitol where the host band performed at the Na- tional Peace Officers Memorial Service on the final day of Police Week.
real sense of pride just being able to be a part of something like this.”
That wasn’t the only time the host band played for the sur- vivors though. The next time was on the Capitol steps, where multiple pipe bands took turns playing songs to honor the fall- en while Gold Star Families took a seat on the lawn with um- brellas to shade them from the blaring sun. Members of the band also couldn’t help but be aware of one particular listener.
“It’s going to be a mix of paying attention to my pipe major while at the same time trying to breathe and take in the scene with a photographic memory,” Donnelly said, anticipating what it would be like to perform in front of President Trump at the Peace Officers Memorial Service. “It’s probably going to feel like I’m walking two inches off of the ground just knowing where I am.”
This time, the heat was the weather challenge for the band members who stood facing the sun for multiple hours with hardly a breeze of relief. But again, the host band stood its ground, refusing to let the sweat on their brows hinder the tone they had set for the families of the fallen and the leaders of the country.
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