Page 40 - FOP JUNE Newsletter

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CPD Honor Guard makes unprecedented presentation at National Police Week
n STORY AND PHOTOS BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYNN CRONQUIST
At the footsteps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., not far from where Jenny made her run across the reflecting pool in Forest Gump, a signature moment of National Po- lice Week 2016 transpired. Under a sparkling blue sky, the Chicago Police Department Honor Guard performed an amazing tribute to fallen officers during the Exhibition phase of Police Week’s annual Honor Guard Competition.
Honor Guard member Tricia Gill, a 25-year veteran of the Department, marched to a table draped with a cloth bearing the CPD logo and set with a vase of white roses. She picked up a picture frame from the table, held it in front of her face and read the story of the female officer in the photo.
“Illinois State Trooper Erin Hehl,” Gill introduced in a roll-call voice. “Trooper Hehl lost her life when the heli- copter she was in crashed during a training exercise. Her son, Brendon, was three-and-a-half-years-old when she
40 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2016
died. Erin’s husband, Bob, a retired Chicago Police detec- tive, shared with me that Brendon loved to shop for and eat bagels with his mom. Brendon couldn’t be here be- cause he is graduating from Southern Illinois University this weekend.”
The extraordinary quality playing out easily could have been that all members of the CPD Honor Guard here were female officers. Or that the fallen officers they were hon- oring were female officers in and around Chicago. Or the uncommon valor at work could have been that unlike many of the other units in the competition, the Depart- ment Honor Guard is made up of officers who have full- time assignments and do this in their spare time.
But, really, the staggering feat taking place was all about the tears.
As Gill was joined by Alesia Franklin, Bobbie Bowen, Lydia Cruz, Robin Popelka, vocalist Kenyatta Gaines and led by Grace Delgado in honoring six fallen female offi- cers, tissues and hankies became the most indispensable gear for the hundreds in attendance. If the competition
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