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2021 NATIONAL FOP BIENNIAL CONFERENCE REPORT
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and French, whose presence permeated the convention center to the point at 10 a.m. on Aug. 19 when the entire conference stood for the beginning of Ella’s funeral ser- vice.
Ella served as an honorary Lodge 7 dele- gate. Her uniform and hat filled a chair next to Catanzara the entire time he was in the hall. Lodge 7 distributed so many T-shirts adorned with the Department star, her star number and end of watch date that the conference was draped in Chicago blue.
Messages from the podium continually recognized the sacrifice Ella made and the challenge law enforcement continues to face that the incident inflamed.
In asserting that the shooter was a re- peat offender, National Vice President Joe Gamaldi charged, “If we had dropped the hammer on him, Officer French would still be alive today.”
Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas G. Carter dropped a hammer during the opening ceremonies by an- nouncing, “If anybody can change the per-
Chicago Lodge 7 members passed out shirts honoring Ella French to all attendees at the Na- tional Conference.
ception, it’s you. You would die for some- one. That’s what makes you who you are. Rest in peace, Ella French.”
And when Atlanta attorney Lance LoRus- so stepped up to be honored as the FOP’s Lawyer of the Year, it was clear who he was accepting the award for. “Say it with me: ‘F-R-E-N-C-H.’” He brought the hundreds of Lodge 7 members and the rest of the Illi- nois delegation to their feet with a nod that elevated them to a place they needed to be.
“Lodge 7 is the biggest lodge in the coun- try, and we need to have a bigger voice and presence in the National,” noted Carlo Ru- bino, a unit rep from the 19th District who
served as a conference delegate. “Overall, their values are the same as ours. But we don’t project ours nationally as big as we should. What we’ve realized here is to get involved to make connections for the bet- terment of everybody.”
The Lodge 7 delegation included mem- bers like Brandon Lambert, a second watch rep in 007. At a general members meeting earlier this year, he heard the Lodge was asking who would like to attend the Na- tional Conference.
He was certainly motivated by the an- ti-police rhetoric creating more interest among police officers in the union voice. And so he came to Indianapolis to see what the FOP was doing about it and what type of actions it was planning on taking.
“I’m here to basically get more informed about what’s going on with the FOP at the national level,” Lambert added.
So were there any profound takeaways?
“A little bit about the legal stuff related to what officers are talking about potential COVID mandates,” Lambert reported. “I can definitely take that back to the mem- bers.”
46 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2021