Page 26 - Demo

P traits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
Recalling the long ght
n BY NICK SWEDBERG
In more than two-and-a- half decades of policing, Gil- bert “Gil” Ruiz III actually has spent about four months in a Chicago Police Department uniform.
Almost all of the rest has been in plain clothes on one beat – the 17th District tacti- cal team. Policing is a second career, but the one Ruiz knew he’d be in eventually and will retire from in March after 26 years.
The motivation for a ca- reer spent fighting drugs and gangs traces back to Ruiz’s formative years. As a teen- ager, Ruiz lost his best friend and a cousin to killings com- mitted by gang members. As a police officer, Ruiz estimates he’s made 900 felony arrests and put away 3,100 bad guys.
“I’m going to miss this job,” Ruiz said, unprompted.
Inside a Logan Square cof-
fee shop on a chilly January
afternoon, Ruiz smiled as he
gestured to the Blackhawks
jersey he wore to emphasize that is his “uni- form.” He speaks with an accent that could only
be from Chicago when he announces his beat number – 1761C – overemphasizing and drag- ging out the letter “C.” He said other cops in the tactical squad say it the same way now because of him.
GILBERT “GIL” RUIZ III Star# 17759
ly),” he said.
Ruiz’s first felony bust came
while partnered with his field training officer. He witnessed a cocaine deal between two people outside a bar. The deal- er went inside but the other guy started walking away.
Ruiz said he jumped out of the car, raced down the street and tackled the perp, causing some of the cocaine to spill out onto the sidewalk. They called the district tactical squad to take down the dealer, who was inside the bar.
That also was Ruiz’s first run- in with a tactical squad. During the next several months, he went from the training district to the 18th District before fi- nally landing in 17.
By 1991, Ruiz was in plain clothes, working informants and making undercover buys. He never looked back. Ruiz recognizes he’s retiring during a difficult time for Chicago po- lice, and in an era when some of the slightest changes have made a big impact.
He noted how everyone is on cell phones, especially the dealers. While that has made busting them more complicated over the years, the increase in the use of cell phones in general has made it so gunshot victims are
getting medical attention faster.
Ruiz, who grew up in the same Bucktown neighborhood as his wife and got married at 17, left high school and worked at a print shop. It was his first job, and his boss at the time encouraged him while he took night classes and prepared for the police exam. He passed and made it into the last class in 1989.
Ruiz understood becoming a police officer was the right turn to make.
“I know it would be a better life for my wife (and fami-
Still, it’s impossible not to look back at a more than two decade career and not see all the good done. People he has put away have come back after serving time to invite him to parties, quinceañeras or other important
events in their lives as a thanks to him.
Tears pool on the edges of his eyes and the confidence
in his voice, grown from working on Chicago’s streets, wa- vers a bit when Ruiz contemplates leaving the job for re- tirement.
“I’m going to miss it, because a lot of people’s lives were changed,” he said. d
26 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2017