Page 40 - March 2018 FOP Newsletter

Commander Bauer
Honoring
Commander Paul Bauer’s funeral and hundreds more gathered outside the church, marching in the procession following his casket.
QUIET RESPECT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 40 tention. But for a grieving police force
looking for answers, they came together in Bridgeport to say a proper goodbye to a 31-year CPD veteran who was lost doing the job he loved the way he loved it.
Long after the sun had set to make a frigid Friday night feel that much colder, Officer Wendy Klee gripped a cup of hot chocolate while looking across 37th and Lowe at the line of people slowly making their way toward the church – as they did
40 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2018
for several hours – during the visitation for Bauer.
Klee, a 15-year veteran who works in organized crime, was posted up near the church on a detail, but the assignment held a deeper meaning.
“To support my fellow officers know- ing that any day any one of us could end up not going home,” Klee explained. “It’s the job we chose, but it’s also the price we choose to pay if we have to.”
The line of mourners stretched beyond
a full city block, which meant some peo- ple waited as long as three hours to en- ter the church. Officer Jim Fiduccia was among the throng of people who patient- ly ignored the cold for the bittersweet opportunity to show his support to the Bauer family in the most difficult of times.
“It’s our chance to say goodbye to a hero,” said Fiduccia, who has been on the job 24 for years.
With just four months on the street, 7th District Officer Daniel Guzy didn’t know Bauer, but he put things in perspective with wisdom beyond his years on the force.
“It’s a sad day for the whole Depart- ment, for the whole City,” Guzy shared before pivoting to the lesson he learned from all that he heard about Bauer. “It inspires me to potentially be an officer that he was. Hopefully, I can do the same things that he did in his community.”
Personal and professional lessons from Bauer provided a theme for his funeral service. Father Dan drew some of those
f h o t i e
w t m m