Page 43 - November 2021

The Light Shining Through the Haze
The Lodge 7 Memorial and National Police Week 2021 created the opportunity for members and family members to experience the magnitude of honoring the fallen
n ROSEMARY AN
n PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER SHANAHAN
Rain seemed imminent when retired Chicago community policing civilian of- ficer Chiquita Newman and her daugh- ter Caneshia came to the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C., for the Na- tional Peace Officers Memorial Service on Oct. 16. But as fallen officers’ names were called as part of the National Police Week ritual, the sun shone through the haze.
“It was dark for a moment,” Newman recalled. “But the clouds opened up for the family members to be acknowledged. You felt the peace. It was so impressive you almost forgot why you were there.”
Chicago Police Officer Shannon Martin lays a rose at the Lodge 7 Memorial Wall in honor of her father, Clifford Martin Sr.
Ronald, a 4th District officer who passed away on April 17, 2020, due to COVID. When his name was announced, she felt her husband’s warm embrace and dash- ing smile in the form of the beaming sun.
“After my husband passed, I’ve linked him with the sun,” Chiquita explained. “I looked up, and when that sun came through, I said, ‘OK, Mr. Newman, you’re here. I see you.’”
In a massive memorial experience that included the Lodge 7 Memorial on Oct. 6 and National Police Week, members and family members had the opportunity to honor fallen officers throughout the country for the first time in 17 months. For some, it was the first and only chance
To Newman, the sun was her husband,
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