Commander Down
Commander Paul Bauer
Chicago Police Department
Dedicated officer.
Dedicated public servant.
Dedicated daddy.
Lost earlier this week to bullets from a 4-time felon.
This is the way we want to remember Cmdr. Bauer, in his polo shirt and dad shorts, with his little girl by his side. He was her protector, and he was our protector, and those two things are not unrelated.
We have never known a police officer who did not become a cop for the best of reasons — to serve and protect, at some level accepting our city as an extension of family.
FROM:
This city is broken. I’m devastated that the violence here took Paul from Grace, Paul from Erin. Paul advocated for stiffer sentences for repeat offenders, and the suspect in his killing is a four-time felon. Maybe his death will prompt reform, maybe it won’t. Either way, he’s forever gone.
He was a gem. He leaves a gaping hole where a husband and father should be. The loss is tremendous — for Chicago, for the police force, for Erin, for Grace, none of whom will soon recover.
Please read the rest of the tribute to this real American hero:
We (collectively, as a nation) have absolutely no clue of the sacrifices being made by the men and women in blue -- putting their lives on the line every single day to protect us from the evils that litter society around us.
Thank you all.
And thank you Paul.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
