Page 36 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

FOP pays tribute
to the fallen at state memorial
n BY DAN CAMPANA
No matter how many years go by, certain memories im- mediately come to mind for FOP President Dean Angelo, Sr. when attending police memorial events.
“You tend to remember your partners, your friends, your classmates from the academy who got killed in the line of duty. You always go back to that moment, that per- son, that event,” Angelo said while attending the Illinois Police Officers Memorial Day ceremony in Springfield on May 5.
Angelo, First Vice President Ray Casiano, Jr. and others represented the FOP and Chicago Police Department as a multitude of police officers from around Illinois descend- ed on the State Capitol for the annual event. Hundreds filled the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception for an in- terfaith service during which The Reverend Seth Brown shared a message reminding attendees that whether out of good or bad circumstances, there will always be some- thing to ponder next.
That point stuck with Casiano.
“Our job is never ending. Our officers are 24/7 even when they hang up their duty belt in their locker. When they walk out, they don’t leave the job behind; they’re al- ways vigilant,” Casiano offered. “Law enforcement offi- cers usually take that career path because they want to help people. They want to stand between the person who cannot defend themselves and the person who is taking advantage of them.”
After the service and procession to the police memori- al on the Illinois Capitol Building grounds, speakers paid tribute to a total of eight officers, including three histori- cal honorees who served Chicago, and died in the line of
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2016
duty: Officers William Feeley (1894), Bartholomew Cava- naugh (1898) and Austin Fitch (1914).
John Gordon, of the Chicago Police Memorial Founda- tion, offered an emotional glimpse into his life in a law enforcement family, and the struggles he faced after his brother Michael died on duty in 2004.
“Since he was a child, that’s all he wanted to be – CPD. And he was able to achieve that goal,” Gordon told the crowd.
Michael Gordon died after an unlicensed drunk driver struck his squad car. John Gordon vividly remembers that Sunday morning, and his family receiving the call no one wants to get.
“Thankfully, I didn’t have to take that call. My wife relayed to me my brother was gone. I just remember screaming, thinking, ‘How could this be?’” John Gordon shared. “My family was devastated. The next month was a blur. We had a two-day wake to accommodate so many officers. We had an amazing funeral.”
Gordon said he suffered from depression after his brother’s death and lost some of his purpose in life.
“Thankfully, I have an amazing family and an amaz- ing wife who showed me how to channel that grief into (something) positive – something I never thought could happen at the time. She told me to find a purpose for that pain,” he explained.
He started the Michael Gordon Memorial Foundation in 2005 and, with his wife’s encouragement, joined the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation in 2008.
“How could something so positive come from this per- sonal tragedy?” John Gordon said, adding “(I) found my dream job keeping my brother’s name alive and serving the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.”