Page 33 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

tendent Johnson, certainly to fallen officers and seeming- ly to all members of his department that he has set out to touch and serve.
“These courageous officers have dedicated their lives to serve and protect, and they back up the quality of their work with their lives,” he added. “You shall never be for- gotten. And the people of Chicago should know that your gift and legacy to us all is that you are directly responsible for improving the quality of life for every citizen of Chi- cago.”
Alderman Ray Lopez of the 15th ward was on hand perhaps to exemplify the all-in-this together feeling that President Angelo initiated. One of the most ardent sup- porters of the Lodge on the city council, Lopez described what the ultimate sacrifice should mean to all elected of- ficials and all residents of the city.
“For me, this speech is hard to give because ‘thank you’ is not enough,” he asserted. “Those that are defending us, those that have given their lives to defend us, you do have support, you do have people that believe in you and stand by you. And know there are others on the council who feel the same.”
If the new star was the symbol of the believe-in-you, stand-by-you, come-together-now sensation of the ser- vice, the accessory was the blue ribbon inspired by the FOP Family Auxiliary’s Blue Ribbon Campaign. Family Auxiliary President Angie Haynes encouraged all law en- forcement personnel and citizens to tie blue ribbons to their car antennas during National Police Week in honor of the women and men who serve their communities 24- 7.
Tying a blue ribbon, Hayne said, underlines “the motto of the Auxiliary to never let them walk alone.”
No officers walk alone if Lodge 7 has anything to say about it. President Angelo emphasized that sentiment when he added something extra special to the event by honoring two groups of members who were part of recent shootings that left officers injured.
He presented Officers Arturo Bracho, Michael Cantore, Alejandro Lagunas and Antonio Herrera who were part of a response on March 21 in Washington Heights to two armed gunmen trying to rob off-duty Officer Stephen Boyd. Despite finding his wallet with his star, the two gunmen opened up on Boyd. He was able to return fire and hit one. The other officers subsequently caught both subjects.
President Angelo also recognized Officers Gerardo Ri- vera and Eddie Okon, who stopped three “suspicious” in- dividuals on April 25 in Washington Heights. One of the individuals had a gun that went off and hit Okon in the shoulder. Rivera was also hurt in the altercation to appre- hend the suspects.
As President Angelo confirmed that these officers have “our unlimited respect and support,” several of them stepped up to offer some words that added to the emo- tion of the day. Bracho provided the comments that prob- ably spoke volumes for so many.
“I was also shot on that night,” he began. “Laying there, I remember thinking I could have been another name on that wall. By the grace of God I wasn’t, and I gained a new
respect to remember officers who are on there and didn’t make it out.”
The three names added to the wall, believe it or not, actually precipitated a happy ending to the Lodge 7 Me- morial commemoration. None of these names are offi- cers who were lost in the line of duty in 2015, marking the third consecutive year the Department has gone without an additional fallen member. And the inclusion of Offi- cers Lynch, Zaccard and Stine reinforced, as Chicago Po- lice Memorial Foundation Executive Director and former Superintendent Phil Cline who told their stories said, the motto of never forgetting.
Stine was discovered to have succumbed 16 years after an incident in which 25 shots were fired and he was hit. Zaccard was shot and killed while coming to the aid of an- other officer.
And Lynch, who was represented by the presence of is daughters Peggy Rost and Donna O’Neill at the Memori- al, suffered a fatal heart attack chasing a suspect on foot. According to his daughters, they never anticipated their father receiving this type of honor.
“He was a cop’s cop and just loved his job,” said O’Neill who also noted the honor was even more significant be- cause Lynch would have turned 100 years old in 2016. “My father did not get shot by a gun, but he died in the perfor- mance of his duty so we always hoped he would be recog- nized. We’re thrilled that people still remember and care.”
Following revealing the newly-inscribed names, a bless- ing from Father Dan Brandt and the playing of “Taps,” President Angelo invited all attendees to the patio to see the unveiling of the new star.
The star actually started as an idea from Lodge 7 Past President Bill Nolan and the Veteran’s Committee want- ing to gift an icon for the wall at the back of the patio. At the National FOP Convention in Pittsburgh last August, Angelo, Sr., met Neil Brodin, a retired Minneapolis Police Officer and FOP Lodge 3 member, who owns Brodin Stu- dios that makes bronze statues to honor and memorial- ize comrades in law enforcement, fire and rescue and the military.
Brodin Studios has made such renowned sculptures as the “Call to Duty” of an officer kneeling holding an Amer- ican flag for a California police department and gifted a statue to President George H. W. Bush in honor of the FOP’s’ 75th anniversary. But Brodin, who was on the job for 21 years, had never made anything like the star.
“Bill Nolan was very particular about how it should be displayed with the bronze lettering,” Brodin explained. “It had to be built to be outside and it had to be built to last for many years.”
The mold was carved in wax, and Brodin said special at- tention was taken because of what Lodge 7 has been going through the past several months. A black tarp was draped over the star to create a ceremonious presentation. When the tarp was pulled, the star and the words “Fraternal Or- der of Police Chicago Lodge No. 7” on two lines under- neath it, were cemented into Lodge history and it ended a truly memorable day on the highest of notes. d
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2016 33