Page 8 - FOP June 2019 Magazine

First Vice President’s Report
Huge attendance at Memorial Week shows positive impact of police
Every May, police officers from around the coun- try gather to honor the fallen officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the previous year or years be- fore.
From the state of Alabama throughout Wisconsin, including federal agencies and Puerto Rico, the fam- ilies, friends and partners gather to pay homage to their loved ones in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
A sea of green, blue and brown was seen at the candlelight vigil and memorial service held on the lawn of the Capitol Building. The names of Chicago Police Commander Paul R. Bauer and Officers Conrad C. Gary, Samuel Jimenez, Eduardo Marmolejo and Owen Masterson were etched in stone the night of the candlelight vigil.
Top Cop Award
This year, three members of the Chicago Police Department were given the Top Cop Award on May 12. Lieutenant Jacob Al- derden and Officers Bernardo Quijano and Elvis Turcinovic were selected for their heroism at Mercy Hospital on Nov. 19, 2018. Each recipient’s act of heroism was displayed on a screen with the actual 911 call and body camera footage of each event. Lieu- tenant Alderden and Officers Jimenez, Turcinovic and Quijano bravely prevented a further loss of life.
A week later, the department and community gathered to hon- or Officer Jimenez, who served the city “fearlessly and honorably” and was remembered as a loving husband to Crystal and father to Ebony, Angelina and Julian.
Candlelight vigil
The candlelight vigil was held May 13 at 8 p.m. Every person in attendance for the ceremony was given a candle; at the appropri- ate time, it was lit for the roll call of fallen officers.
Superintendent Johnson conducted the roll call for the state of Illinois. Thousands of candles lighting up the sky is truly an in- spiring sight. The state of New York had the longest roll call, as officers continue to succumb to the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
National Police Officers’ Memorial Service
On May 15, the 38th annual memorial service was held on the lawn of the Capitol Building. The survivors of the fallen officers walked between the thousands of police officers there to support them and honor their heroes. Although it was rainy during the previous days, the sun came out on that day. It is difficult to de- scribe the raw emotion of watching the families walking by each officer at attention.
President Trump was the keynote speaker for the event and de- livered an eloquent speech, calling out the state’s attorneys from Philadelphia and Chicago for their failure to prosecute criminals in their cities. Trump personally invited families onto the stage to address the crowd, and individually met with them prior to the event.
More than 500 of our finest attended this event. Each and ev- ery Chicago Police Officer during their career should attend this event at least once.
Ben Bradley
I met Ben Bradley, a reporter for Channel 9 News, several years ago. Approximately six months ago, I approached him with the idea of coming to Washington, D.C., to give all Chicagoans the real story about the dangers that police officers encounter and the hardships their families endure on a regular basis.
Chicagoans responded favorably to the segments aired by Channel 9 News. Facebook was flooded with pictures of the events and video footage. Bradley conducted several interviews with the Jimenez, Marmolejo, Gary and Bauer families. I com- mend Bradley and Liz Nagy, of WLS-TV, for the coverage of the police officer memorial events.
The Memorial Foundation provided a free bus to officers will- ing to attend the services in Washington, D.C.
John Knight – EOW January 9, 1999
The memorial anniversary of John Knight was Jan. 9. The entire Knight, Ciukaj and McAvoy clans made the trek from Milwaukee and Chicago to attend the services held in our nation’s capital on the 20th anniversary. It’s hard to believe that time has passed so quickly and that the children of John and Joan are now young adults: Matt and Brian are Chicago firefighters, and Lauren is continuing her education in a master’s program.
It seemed like the entire 22nd District and Mount Greenwood neighborhood were at a pre-candlelight party hosted by the 18th District honoring our fallen heroes. The sheer number of attend- ees from across the country that attended Memorial Week in Washington, D.C., shows the positive impact that police officers have in their communities, the dangers they encounter on a daily basis and how they will be dearly missed and never forgotten!
PAT MURRAY
8 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2019