Page 16 - May 2020

Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
‘Not afraid to get involved’
n BY KAREN STAHL
Angelina Palermo is a fighter. And we’re not talking just in the 7th District.
She fights for her past self, a 24-year-old single mother working on a six-on-two-off shift schedule. She fights to keep the bad guys away from her son on the autism spec- trum. She fights for her goals, like achieving a black belt in Brazilian jujitsu at ROL Acad- emy with her 19-year-old daughter in Orland Park. She currently has a purple belt.
But for Palermo, strength comes naturally. Enduring hardships and standing up for what’s right is all she’s known, especially being a born-and- raised Chicagoan from Mount Greenwood surrounded by her friends’ law enforcement par- ents.
“It’s a running joke that peo-
ple are like, ‘Oh you’re a legend
in [the 7th District],’ because
I’m not afraid of a fight,” Paler-
mo proclaimed, discussing her
reputation since joining the
department in 2004. “I’m not
afraid to get involved. I’ve never been afraid to work, because you just want to make sure your kids can go outside to play like anybody else’s kids.”
Palermo runs on very little sleep and lots of willpow-
er. Working first watch means when she arrives home around 7 a.m., she can grab just a couple hours of rest – unless, of course, the dog’s chewed up one of her possessions – and then tend to her young son for the day. Palermo fights for her family life, even when that means putting her own needs last.
“On midnights, my kids are sleeping and I’m there just doing the thing,” Palermo conveyed. “I find I’m not missing being with them because I come back, and we have our day. I know that there is nobody else to pick up my slack – there’s nobody else to be like, ‘I’ll take care of the kids today.’ I don’t want to feel like I miss out on being a mom.”
And when Palermo packs up the dinosaur figurines for the day, tucks her son into bed, then heads into the night, she steps into her uniform for a Wonder Woman-esque transformation.
Having trained and passed all the qualifications for the SWAT team to standards in place for her male counterparts in 2016 – “not some reduced standard,” she proudly mentions – Palermo
16 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2020
is a skilled officer out on the streets.
While handling two differ- ent officer-involved shootings in 2012 and 2019, it was that high-intensity training that al- lowed her to succeed and stay safe. Shooting and moving, maneuvering toward buildings to flatten herself under hard, covered objects and staying alert are just some of Palermo’s tactics.
And of course, the natural fighter in her knows how to keep bad guys at bay.
“In a shooting situation, pushing yourself, there’s so much stress,” she recalled. “It’s like a million people looking at you. It’s like the same thing at work where you’re being eval- uated, even if you don’t realize you’re being evaluated. Cam- eras, people and the public all bring that tremendous pres- sure.”
So the nomination letter for a Top Cops award that arrived during her April 18 shift comes as little surprise. Commending her extraordinary efforts, peers
nominated Palermo for recognition during the annual event that pays tribute to local, state and federal law enforcement officers across the country during Police Week in Washington, D.C.
Though the ceremony is currently postponed until October, Palermo will likely ask her daughter to accompany her to the event. After all, 19 years earlier her daughter was the one who taught Palermo how important it is to embody a mother who fights for what she believes.
“She knows what life goals are,” Palermo said, referencing her daughter. “She knows that you have to do a good job. You get re- warded when you do. People recognize that.”
Palermo will always persevere in her work, for her family and for herself. Strength comes naturally. And after 16 years on the job, she’s not backing down any time soon.
Listen to her lilting tone speak gently to her son during the day, then watch her go out and work the streets at night.
“There’s no saying, ‘I’m going to let somebody else deal with this,’” Palermo emoted. “That’s not an option. You have to go and do the work, no matter what it is.”
That grit is true strength.
ANGELINA PALERMO
Star #13482