Some of the strongest people on the planet are law enforcement officers. And behind them are legions of similarly strong people otherwise known as family or loved ones or the at-home squad.
Indeed, it takes special people to perform a job so unlike what others entail, and cops know this quite well. At varying times, they express the proverbial idiom of having a front-row seat to life—implicit are the highs and lows, the ins and outs, the saves and losses. And, sadly, sometimes they are among the losses.
Self-sacrifice is a bedrock principle among police personnel, undeniably equating to Biblical proportions of laying down one’s life for fellow man, whoever that may be.
As we usher in National Police Week and bow our heads to heroes who have lived and died fulfilling sacred tenets of the Police Officers Oath, it is the families of the fallen who more deeply relive the tragedy which took their beloved police hero from their nucleus, the families who cling to memories which invariably revisit grief upon them…while law enforcers and community supports pillar spouses, moms, dads, brothers, sisters and children, all of whom are emotionally lashed from loss of a life.
Many police memorials respectively replicate the national monument we have constructed in Washington, DC. There are state-level police memorial constructions, county-based convenings to honor our fallen LEOS, and local tributes held upon police department premises.
In each of these, families are front and center, embraced by cops who know the perils of police work and exhibit such depth and solace by enveloping surviving loved ones with uniformed personnel whose own family members gaze upon the loom of grief, silently harboring the reality that they, too, can be shattered by a line-of-duty-death — a quiet testimony stratified throughout law enforcement kinships.
Yet from inexplicable loss arises some poignant growth from survivors who have bushels of backing from the blue family.
Our first example happens to coincide with National Police Week and a realm of remembrance coupled with a milestone achieved by a young lady who graduated from nursing school…with a little help from her friends—her slain father’s brothers and sisters.
Tarpon Springs Police Officer Charles “Charlie K” Kondek was killed in the line of duty on December 21, 2014, mere days before Christmas. A former NYPD cop who transplanted to Florida’s warmer climes, Officer Kondek’s legacy is carried on by his police colleagues who diligently go above and beyond to surrogate Charlie K’s family.
Through the years before and since his death, Tarpon Springs cops have been in attendance for family milestones (fulfilling the promise of pillaring the Kondeks) and memorial stone vigils (in remembrance of a great street cop who paid the proverbial ultimate price).
(Officer Charlie Kondek’s children encircling the Tarpon Springs PD memorial. Photo Courtesy of Teresa Kondek.)
Nearby New Port Richey Police Department named one of their newest police canines “Charlie K.” and had the entire Kondek family in attendance for the revelation, which was punctuated by area merchants officially naming a local Little League baseball diamond “Kondek Field.”
In the Major League, avid police supporters Tampa Bay Rays hosted Officer Kondek’s family and bestowed honor upon his daughter Aleena by having her throw the first pitch, as the Tarpon Springs Police Honor Guard and other local cops stood by supportively.
Relatively coinciding with National Police Week, Officer Kondek’s daughter Aleena graduated from the University of Central Florida (UCF) on Thursday. Anyone witnessing the phalanx of law enforcement officers from varying agencies flanking Aleena likely thought she just received her degree in criminal justice. But that’s not the case; she was conferred her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and congratulated by campus cops at the University of Central Florida PD where she was employed while studying.
(Photo courtesy of the University of Central Florida Police Department.)
From the UCFPD administration, we have the following fond farewell to illustrate today’s topic quite well: “Aleena Kondek, a former UCFPD employee, graduated from UCF College of Nursing this morning. Her father, Tarpon Springs Police Officer Charlie Kondek, was killed in the line of duty in 2014.
“We know our officers can’t fill the shoes of her father on this milestone day, but we hope that our presence reminded her of how proud he and her extended law enforcement family are. Do great things, Aleena! Charge On!”
Duly recognized for serving as surrogates and employer to a slain cop’s daughter, the Central Florida Concerns of Police Survivors organization gave in-kind kudos: “Thank you University of Central Florida Police Department for always standing by our survivors!”
If that weren’t enough, it continued…
I corresponded with Charlie’s wife Teresa Kondek who offered the following gem which transpired with God’s imprint all over it. You see, another graduate was also in the Class of 2021, represented by a retired NYPD cop. That former policeman saw the mixture of LEOs from different agencies, all gathered around a certain young lady sporting a gold tassle, and traipsed over for a closer glimpse (once a cop, always a cop). It was then he recognized the last name “Kondek” and shared that he was at Charlie K’s funeral back in 2014…and that he was also a NYPD cop at one time.
The police didn’t plan that incredible synchronicity, but the Almighty who reigns over His peacekeepers certainly did.
Here is what Mrs. Kondek shared with me: Police “Agencies were so happy to show up. We missed so many due to the Covid restrictions. We were approached by a retired NYPD officer who was there for his daughter’s graduation and recognized our name. He had attended Charlie’s funeral. He found an officer to find us and introduced himself, choking back tears. Those are the things that people don’t see.”
God is good!
Further exemplification of how good God is arrived in prophetic messaging when Mrs. Kondek was headed home and, well, let’s have her explain it: “Then I pass my exit and got rerouted to this…his badge!”
Her slain husband’s Tarpon Springs PD badge #285…matching the three-digit number of the highway exit. “Signs” from above? Affirmative!
(Photo courtesy of Teresa Kondek, wife of fallen Tarpon Springs Police Officer Charles Kondek.)
While culling through similar examples, I came across a uniformed deputy solemnly gazing upon a fallen officer’s beveled name in a granite memorial wall. The last name etched into the wall was identical to the one displayed on the name plate pinned to the deputy’s uniform. Here’s why…
Deputy Ronnie Fewell, whose life was taken in the line of duty on March 16, 1983, is a twin brother to Lt. Donnie Fewell of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
In the following brief video recapping the on-duty tragedy and commemorative message, notice images of the newspaper clippings’ titles and how they differ from today’s sensationalized and exploitive fairytales making cops look like the monsters instead of the criminals.
Somewhat uniquely, sometimes the fallen’s family members remembering selfless service and sacrifice are LEOs themselves, remaining as pillars to lost loved ones while continuing to watch over the community…nonetheless backed by several deputies honoring a brother LEO somberly reminiscing his sibling’s line-of-duty-death.
(Photo screenshot courtesy of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.)
In the spirit of carrying on traditions honoring our law enforcement heroes and their kin, McAllen, Texas police officials embraced the families of the fallen in a unique way. Whereas traditional commemorations entail beveling the fallen cop’s name in granite or marble edifice somewhere on the grounds of their public safety complex, McAllen officials went a step further by entombing the actual badges worn by their police officers killed in the line of duty.
A McAllen city official posted the following synopsis: “Today, the McAllen Police Department memorialized fallen Officer Edelmiro Garza Jr. and Officer Ismael Chavez Jr. at Los Encinos community policing center. Their badges were entombed, facing forward and will continue to shield and protect the City of McAllen.”
The respective families of the two McAllen cops named above got to hold that small but iconic metal treasure once pinned to their loved one’s uniform, before emplacing the justice shields in a pseudo interment for infinity.
(Photo courtesy of City of McAllen TX Government.)
In whichever way any American law enforcement agency can honor its fallen officers, the mainstay ingredients of respect and dignity prevail throughout each vigil.
Our cover photo atop this article characterizes cops who carry on fighting the good fight while continually embracing families of the fallen, especially during National Police Week held May 9-15, 2021.
The image depicts Mission, Texas Police Chief Robert Dominguez as he pillars, consoles, and supports a fallen officer’s family member carbon-copying her loved one’s name and End of Watch (EOW) date etched into a police memorial wall.
While buttoning up this material, the Mission PD comforted the family of Mission Police Officer Jorge Cabrera who perished from COVID contracted during performance of duty, unveiling the naming of a city street in his honor.
The spectators in attendance heard Cabrera’s widow’s poignant words describing her feelings regarding continual support she has received from her fallen husband’s police cohorts and the community…after which all gathered around the street sign named for a hero whose 43rd Birthday coincided with the dedication.
There are many ways to honor the fallen, per the recent edition of The Rose and Shield Insider and memorabilia options, but paramount is shouldering police families whose hero perished in the line of duty, symbolizing the Never forget credo.
As Mrs. Kondek said yesterday, “Thank you for never forgetting us!”
Indeed, law enforcement officers unwaveringly watch over the families of fallen officers…
(Photo courtesy of Teresa Kondek.)