Page 35 - March 2018 FOP Newsletter

Commander Bauer
Honoring
Police Story
Tributes to Commander Paul Bauer tell how he exemplified the excellence of all Chicago Police Officers
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
He was The Police long before 2 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2018. And he will be The Po- lice long after.
The eulogy for Commander Paul Bau- er – Officer Bauer, really – only begins with words of tribute that have echoed through the Department since it lost one of its own to action in the line of duty for the first time in more than six years.
Paul Bauer stepped into action because he went where he was needed.
When officers radioed for help, Paul Bauer was there, as he always tried to be for nearly 32 years on the job.
Paul Bauer led by example, and that was never more evident than in his last act.
Even though Paul Bauer made his way through the ranks, he never let his rank take him away from being a street cop.
“I think Paul embodied everything beautiful about the Chicago Police De- partment: service to the community, protection of life and property and en- forcement of the laws,” eulogized George Devereaux, who worked with Bauer for two years when he served as commander in 018.
The way Bauer was The Police seemed to inspire so much of the praise coming from Chicago coppers in the wake of this terrible tragedy.
“Whether it was a disturbance at North Avenue Beach, a protest on Michigan Avenue, a crime scene or going to assist other officers, he was always front and center, not only as a supervisor, but as a co-worker,” Christopher Schmitt, a ser- geant in 018, extolled.
The loss of Commander Bauer empha- sizes “The Police” in uppercase because the tributes, the support, the bond and the stepping into action and running to- ward danger at the core of The Police runs as strong with Chicago Police Officers as anywhere else in the world. Stronger even, and so the greatest esteem that can be accorded to Bauer comes in the sim- plest of declarations.
“He was The Police in every sense of
the word that is understood by the real police,” asserted Mel Roman, Bauer’s partner in the 18th District and his exec- utive officer.

How he was The Police continues with a message that Chicago Police Chaplain Father Dan Brandt delivered from the pulpit to start the funeral Mass at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Bridge- port on Feb. 17: “Let your hearts not be troubled.” That is the way Paul Bauer would have wanted it.
What might have meant the most to Bauer, and certainly to the Department, are the words that came from the officers who waited in line up to three hours at his visitation and the hundreds who stood in the bitter cold during the funeral because there was no more room in the church. The adjectives repeated most often were: dignity, pride, discipline, respect, integ- rity, honesty, selflessness, perseverance, humility and perhaps most importantly, a great sense of humor. They all spelled honor, which CPD Honor Guard member Lawrence Odoms, who worked the de- tail at the funeral, observed about Bauer:
“Honor is, something that’s not given, it’s something that’s earned.”
Live lives that mirror Paul’s...inspi- ration to be the officer he was...telling his beloved wife, Erin, and daughter, Grace, that they will always be part of the CPD family...praying that legislators
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
Erin and Grace Bauer look on as the CPD Honor Guard carries Paul’s casket from the Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in Bridgeport.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2018 35