Page 52 - May 2017 Newsletter

13th annual 5K raises funds for CPMF
n PHOTOS BY JAMES PINTO
In its 13th year, the annual Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Run to Remember once again brought together police officers, their families and the relatives of those who died in the line of duty. The family-friendly event along the city’s lakefront was held on May 6.
CPMF Project Manager John Gordon said the 5K run and walk drew approximately 5,000 partic- ipants. The course started and ended at the Gold Star Families Memorial Park just outside Soldier Field. Gordon called the turnout and the $300,000 raised for CPMF “fantastic.”
“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year,” he said.
The festivities also included a “Junior Jog” run for kids, appearances by the Chicago Police mounted and K9 units and food at the afterparty. d
Forever Family:
CPD of cers sho s ort for so
n BY DAN CAMPANA
of falle colleag e
In his final home water polo match for Hinsdale South High School, Cullen Gordon left a lasting impression in the pool and out of it.
Cullen, the son of fallen Chicago Police Office Michael Gordon, bagged five goals for the Hornets on senior night. His accomplishment put an exclamation point on a game that had additional meaning to him because of the fellow officers who sat in the crowd.
Cullen invited several officers to join him for the prep sports ritual in which the parents of graduating seniors are recognized alongside their children before their last home contest. As teammates and students clapped near- by, Cullen walked the pool’s deck with his mother beside him and current and former CPD officers following close- ly behind.
“He wanted those guys to fill in for his dad. It was very emotional. It was impressive,” said John Gordon, Mi- chael’s brother and Chicago Police Memorial Foundation project manager. “These guys have never forgotten.”
Cullen was just five years old when Michael Gordon died while on duty on Aug. 8, 2004. A car driven by a man with a blood-alcohol content level at twice the legal lim- it fatally struck Gordon’s patrol car. While his death was devastating to the Gordon family, which includes several relatives in law enforcement, it later inspired John to be- come involved in preserving the memory of his brother and all Chicago officers cut down on the job.
Mario Mendoza met Michael Gordon in the academy,
52 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2017
and they were partnered together in the 11th District af- ter graduation. Mendoza was off duty on the morning Michael died, but he never lost his connection to the Gordons. When Cullen called, Mendoza, now a 15-year veteran, didn’t have to think twice.
“I was honored to be there to stand there as a father. Just for us to be there, like a show of force, to give everyone a sense of what drives [Cullen],” Mendoza said, recognizing from his own parenting experience the significance of the senior night ceremony. “It was a great idea.”
Mendoza knows that Michael would be proud – as Men- doza is – of Cullen for the man he’s become as he heads off to college this fall. Whatever happens next for Cullen, Mendoza promises to continue to be there for him and his family – just as Michael’s coworkers have been for years.
“CPD really helped his legacy. No one ever forgot him,” Mendoza said.d