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Officers Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo: “They wanted to be The Police”
005 Strong
5th District officers have forged a special bond to get through unprecedented year of tragedy
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY H. RICK BAMMAN
Darkness crept closer on this Dec. 20 Thursday evening. Still, a glow simmered outside the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn.
On the west side of the building, the line to pay respects during the visitation for Chicago Police Officer Conrad Gary stretched for nearly two blocks. On the east side, sisters and brothers of Gary and Officer Eduardo Marmolejo from their 5th District gathered like they were huddling around a campfire.
Sure there were tears, lots of tears. And hugs, plenty of hugs. But there were smiles. And laughter. This was 005, with near- ly 60 officers shedding light on how they will endure this latest tragedy, how they will surmount a year of unprecedented heart- break to perhaps ever engulf one district.
They gathered like the close-knit family 005 has always been, known as one of the Department’s training districts. In a year that ended with losing brothers Gary and Marmolejo and in- cluded losing another officer, Vinita Williams, who passed from
40 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2019
a heart attack while working lock-up one night in July – and two other officers taking their own lives in the parking lot outside the building on East 111th Street – the 5th District did on this night what they have been always taught to do: cover each oth- er’s backs.
“We know what we have to do. We like what we do. We will get up tomorrow and take care of business for the City of Chicago.”
5th District Officer Scott Carter
“All these officers here are 5th District strong,” confirmed Of- ficer Gustavo Velazquez, who works third watch in the district, the watch that Marmolejo and Gary were on. “That’s what the 5th District is day in and day out, and it’s never going to change.”
The day after the Gary visitation – the day 005 said goodbye to him and then attended the visitation for Marmolejo – was sup- posed to be the district’s holiday party. That event was resched- uled for Jan. 11 as part-remembrance of friends and part-cele-