Page 51 - Sept 2017

Moments of re ection for fallen of cers
n BY DAN CAMPANA
The memory of an officer lost in the line of duty lives on in many ways and takes on many forms.
A few of those displays of reflection were evident in Au- gust, as Chicago police and community members gath- ered to remember and pay tribute to a quartet of offi- cers killed while on the job in the last 15 years: Officers Eric Lee, Nathaniel Taylor, Alejandro Valdez and Thomas Wortham IV. d
It’s been seven years since Naomi Taylor lost her fa- ther, Nathaniel. He was there to walk her to her first day of kindergarten, which prompted the idea to give her a memorable sendoff as she started high school, according to Frank Gross of the Chicago Police Memo- rial Foundation.
“Her dad couldn’t be there to walk her to school, so let’s have the police walk her to school,” Gross said.
Naomi was picked up at home by one of her father’s former colleagues in narcotics and driven to Chicago Police Headquarters. From there, it was a short walk to De La Salle High School, where Naomi is attending classes. Despite the dreary weather that morning, sev- eral officers lined the sidewalk and saluted Naomi as she walked by.
“Just a way to show we never forget,” Gross added. d
The four officers served as the focal point of an Aug. 3 picnic in Hamilton Park, where the 7th District hosted residents for an event dedicated to “our fallen heroes” — a theme that carried across several moments around the City. That included the annual “Peace in the Park After Dark” overnight camp out in Nat King Cole Park, which served to both remember Wortham and promote positive interaction with young people, while focusing on ways to reduce violence. d
Dozens of officers, family members and others gathered in the 6300 block of South Carpenter on Aug. 18 for a memorial roll call to mark the 16th anniversary of Lee’s death. Lee had been with CPD for nine years when he and his partner in- tervened to help a man being beaten in an alley.
As Lee — a former Marine — and his partner approached, the assailant opened fire on the officers while fleeing the area. Lee was fatally wounded by a gunshot.
Lee’s relatives and supporters sat curbside in chairs during the ceremony and were presented with flowers by the department. d
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