Cape CopCast
Welcome to "The Cape CopCast," the official podcast of the Cape Coral Police Department.
Hosted by Officer Mercedes Simonds, and Lisa Greenberg from our Public Affairs team, this podcast dives into the heart of Cape Coral PD's public safety, community initiatives, and the inner workings of our police department. Each episode brings you insightful discussions, interviews with key community figures, and expert advice on safety.
Cape CopCast
Honor Guard: The Ceremonial Side of Law Enforcement with Sgt. Zalenski & Officer Klakowicz
The Cape Coral Police Department's Honor Guard stands as the living embodiment of law enforcement tradition and respect. Sergeant Joe Zalenski and Officer Steven Klakowicz pull back the curtain on this specialized unit in this episode of the Cape CopCast.
Described as wearing "the tuxedo of police uniforms," these officers serve as the formal representation of the Cape Coral Police Department at events ranging from community celebrations to the most somber of occasions. With approximately twenty members drawn from various divisions throughout the department, the Honor Guard represents the entire agency while preserving the ceremonial aspects of policing that connect today's officers with generations past.
Among their most solemn duties is attending line-of-duty death ceremonies for fallen officers across Florida and beyond. Officer Klakowicz and Sergeant Zalenski share experiences making hours-long journeys to stand in formation and honor officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The emotional weight of these moments is so significant that "part of the Honor Guard uniform is issued sunglasses" to help officers maintain their composure during these difficult ceremonies.
The conversation takes listeners to Washington DC during National Police Week, where thousands of officers from around the world gather to commemorate fallen colleagues. Cape Coral's Honor Guard participated in ceremonies at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, standing alongside officers from departments large and small, domestic and international. This powerful demonstration of brotherhood reminds us that despite geographic distances, all officers share a common bond and purpose.
Whether presenting colors at local ceremonies, carrying the department's official flag (recently redesigned through collaboration with local students), or representing Cape Coral at national events, these officers uphold traditions that connect present-day policing with its rich history. As Sergeant Zalenski says in this episode, "It's important that we all have a sense of where we've come from in order to know where we're going."
Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Cop cast. I'm one of your hosts, Lisa Greenberg, and she is back. My friend Mercedes is here joining us today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's good to be back. Having a baby is a great thing, but it's also good to have a purpose at work.
Speaker 1:We've missed you here on the podcast. I'm sure our listeners have missed you too.
Speaker 2:I just go visit him at lunch. He's very cute.
Speaker 1:It's perfect. He is very cute. I can't vouch for that.
Speaker 2:So today we have two very special guests One we've had on before, One's a new guest. One is Sergeant Joe Zielinski and the other is Stephen Klakowicz Sarge. Do you want to start and tell us a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 3:Sure, I've been with the Cape Coral Police Department since 2005. Before that, I was a police officer in Pennsylvania since 1997. And I currently serve as a sergeant in the Community Services Bureau.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if you haven't listened to our episode in the past with him, you should go back and give it a listen. It's a good one about schools and all that good stuff, school security it's a good one. And then we have Officer Klakowicz.
Speaker 4:I've been with the department since 2021. And then we have Officer Klakowicz. I've been with the department since 2021. I'm currently an FTO on patrol and I had no prior law enforcement before working here with Cape Coral.
Speaker 1:Field training officer is what FTO is. For anyone who doesn't know all the acronyms, I went through a big learning curve where I had to learn all that.
Speaker 1:So we wanted to have you guys on today to talk about the Honor Guard. Especially with everything last month with Police Week and all that good stuff, we did a lot of photos and videos showing our Honor Guard. So for anyone who's listening as a podcast, now would be the time to probably switch to YouTube, because we're going to show some pictures just so you can kind of get a visual idea of the Honor Guard and all the different things that they do.
Speaker 3:So the Honor Guard is the formal representation of the police department at both ceremonial events, somber events and celebrations. One of our primary roles is to represent the agency in the presentation of colors at various city events. We are also responsible for participating and representing the agency in line of duty deaths across the state and we have about 20 members. Give or take. That number moves around a little bit, but the uniform that is most customary for our purposes is what I would consider to be like the tuxedo of police uniforms. So when we're wearing that it's a very formal occasion and it's a formal representation of the police department as a whole.
Speaker 1:And just recently you guys went to DC to commemorate police week. What was that like?
Speaker 4:It was a really really great experience. It was my first time attending. I've been on the honor guard just over a year now and I had the opportunity to go. They put it out to all the members and I was luckily one of the four people that were chosen and it was just really really cool and really, you know, humbling and to be able to see all of these departments from around the country, as well as even around the world there's international police officers that show up to these events and for everybody to just come together and there's a lot of remembrance and ceremony behind it and being able to be part of that, I felt really fortunate to be able to go and attend and do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my old department actually bumped up right to the DC line. I worked in Montgomery County and so our department was also pretty heavily involved in Police Week and a lot of officers would volunteer to go to the airport and pick up the families of the fallen that would be invited to attend, and I know that that was a really special experience for everybody. So I'm sure just being a part of that along with all the other officers is just that's really cool to go and see everybody and it's kind of like reminds you of the brotherhood that exists with everyone too, that you're all a part of.
Speaker 4:Yeah, just just being here a lot. We don't. You know we're we're in the bottom corner of the country, right, and we see police around us and within the state, but when you get to see how other departments do things from around the country and you get a different perspective on it, that was cool to experience, because I've only ever worked here as well.
Speaker 1:So for sure. If someone wants to be a part of the honor guard, what's the process? There are people selected. Do they have to do? Of course the like former dancer in me is thinking of the word audition that to do? Of course the like former dancer in me is thinking of the word audition. That's not the right word. Do they have to prove themselves in some way? How does that work?
Speaker 3:So when we recruit we put out a memo of interest, much like we would do for any other type of position. The difference between a lot of the other specialties in the police department the honor guard team is that it's more of an ad hoc organization where we draw personnel from across the department. So, for instance, I'm in community services, steve is in patrol, we have members in the motors unit, detectives Uh, we have them across the agency and we draw from that pool of people because it is what I would consider to be sort of like a part-time thing that we do and it's as needed. But there's a an amount of training that goes into it, uh, the selection process of people who are interested. It isn't that we can't train people, but, uh, people who come from a military background usually already have the drill and ceremony portion of, uh, the stepping and facing movements and so forth. But it's not anything that we can't teach. We have several team leaders. We have training monthly, so we have the opportunities for people who, if they don't, or if they only have what they learned in the police academy as far as marching skills and so forth, we can work with that and then train them up to what it is we do.
Speaker 3:The difference for us is there's a lot of weapon manipulation when it comes to the for the uh presentation of colors. We have inert rifles that we utilize for that, and then we also have. The difference for us is there's a lot of weapon manipulation when it comes to the presentation of colors. We have inert rifles that we utilize for that, and then we also have the flags. That's a bit of a curveball for someone who's only just done marching or facing movements. So we add that in and then we train them up and we don't put them in any position to fail.
Speaker 3:We give them a lot of opportunities to be able to conduct repetitions, which is why we conduct the monthly training. So that way, anytime that we have an event coming up, we take those individuals, we try to give them as much opportunity to practice and then, when we get to the events, we practice there as well, prior to the actual event. Usually, when we're doing what we're doing, that's the very end of what we were there to do. So going on stage for the use of a better, better term is the last thing that we do Once we leave the stage. That's pretty much it. We're wrapping up and we're moving out of the way for the rest of the show to proceed.
Speaker 1:I know you guys travel all over the state for, sadly, when we see line of duty, deaths of officers and most recently I think you guys did an eight hour trip there and back. So eight hours there and eight hours back in like the span of 24 hours to go to an officer funeral and represent. What was that like?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I had the opportunity to do that twice last year and one of them was in Jacksonville, so it was one of those where it's, you know, leave at 3.30 in the morning, get home at 7 pm that night. Um, but yeah, you, you again. You see a lot of these agencies from the entire state and even other agencies from around the country that will show their respect and um and come to these, these ceremonies, and it's it's just a reminder of of the thing that we do, and some people have made a sacrifice and a lot of the officers from these departments are really receptive and they're really glad to see our agency and other agencies coming to show our respect as well. They appreciate that that goes a long way.
Speaker 1:What exactly do you guys do at those types of, you know ceremonies?
Speaker 3:So, for the line of duty death funerals and I wouldn't say that any two have ever been the same We've had, unfortunately, the experience of going up to Charlotte County in the past two years and I would say that the ones that we've attended in Charlotte County are similar in nature to such as, maybe, nassau County, where we went two years ago, or Claremont where we went last year.
Speaker 3:So there's a little bit of a variation to every line of duty death funeral, but A significant amount of the state and I would say there's some agencies across the country who send membership I know Chicago and New York are very good about sending membership to every single line of duty death across the country that they can send their personnel to guard as, as for again, as formal representation of the agency's intentions to grieve alongside the agency that has lost that officer or deputy.
Speaker 3:So when we get there, we will meet up with whoever the organ and we already know who the organizers are and, depending on what the, the um, the uh program is going to look like, the uh, the honor guard personnel are usually dismissed after a service to a certain area for the purposes of lending comfort to the grieving agency as well as, of course, the family members and friends.
Speaker 3:So we will be participating in standing at attention, presenting arms, possibly utilizing our department flag for honor cordons, all kinds of different types and aspects of line of duty, death, funeral events, and each one, like I said, each one's a little bit different. Sometimes there's a flyover, sometimes there's a well, there's almost invariably a motorcycle procession that precedes the department that's grieving. So there's a lot of different places where you can be utilized. Oftentimes we're used as an honor cordon for the family and the grieving agency. So wherever that family gets out of their vehicles, there's a tunnel, if you will, on both sides of that walkway to wherever it is that they're going, and all the departments who are in honor guard personnel will form that, those walls for those personnel and render honors as they pass.
Speaker 1:That has to be extremely emotional and you're kind of in a position where you guys have to be the strong ones, right Like you're watching these family members walk by, and that's gotta be tough.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is, and that's what we say. That's why the um part of the honor guard uniform is is issued sunglasses. For that reason, and again when we were in DC for police week, we did that same type of um honor cordon for these fallen officers families, but just on a much grander scale, with you know the number of officers that are lost every year, versus it just being one officer's service that must have been pretty incredible.
Speaker 1:police week is to kind of commemorate the lives that were lost that year in the line of duty, and even prior to that it's a week-long culmination leading up to the actual Peace Officers Memorial, correct?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so we did have the honor cordon that we participated in, where they have a candlelight vigil on the national lawn and all of the fallen officers' families attend that.
Speaker 3:When we get into town it's usually celebrated the week of May 15th, and JFK is the president who instituted that, I think in 1962. And it started as a relatively small thing, but then, with the advent of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the museum there as well, it grew in substance and today I would say that there was probably no less than 10,000 officers from across the world who attended at any given time.
Speaker 3:Um, but, uh, what Steve was talking about is the Monday night is a reception at the at the uh memorial and the museum, which are right across the street from each other, and that's primarily for the honor guards that have come in from out of town. And then Tuesday is Tuesday night is the candlelight vigil, and Tuesday during the day, which is the honor cordon Steve's referring to, uh, there are hundreds of officers, uh, 50 to 50 on each side and they go on. There's two separate locations and they go on for about three hours. Wow, so you'll be deployed with a team and you could be with someone from anywhere in the country. Uh, you just sign up, there's an organized way of doing it and you're given a time. We arrive, we get into the cordon and then the families are escorted to the VIP section of the candlelight vigil and then we come back for the candlelight vigil for that evening, where they read all the names that are being inscribed in the wall for this year, for 2025. And you were referring to the line of duty deaths that occurred in 24. In addition to that, there's a lot of research that goes into previous law enforcement officers across the history of our country and when they determined that there was a line of duty death, those officers are also added. So there will be officers from years past added in 25 that were researched and located as line of duty deaths during their whenever they served. And if that's determined, they'll also get the honors as well.
Speaker 3:Thursday is the national address. This year it was a. There was a video from the president and the vice president spoke along with a lot of the cabinet members who were present and that'll be on the national lawn and there's probably another 5,000 to 6,000 officers there as well, and the names of the people going on the wall are read by state. So it's not uncommon for each state, when each state is recognized, for all the members of the police officers who are active duty, for those states to come to attention and salute while those names are read. So that's also like a sort of a somber moment where you try to respect those who come before you and pay the ultimate price for the safety of their communities.
Speaker 1:It's a busy week and I know that while a lot of it is very somber, there's also that like sense of camaraderie, like everyone kind of coming together. That is uplifting in a sense. Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, it's one of the reasons, like I consider myself like the dinosaur and Steve's the young, the young, the young guy. So you know, I see it as important as to turn over these traditions over to the next generation of law enforcement because, at some point I won't be here, and it's important that we all have a sense of where we've come from in order to know where we're going.
Speaker 2:How long have we attended? Because I know I've pulled pictures from that we have just in our archives from like. I don't know, they look like I'm bad with times, but it looked like the 70s or 80s or something like that.
Speaker 3:We've had several iterations of the Honor Guard just in my time here. When Chief Sizemore became chief, he put a new emphasis on that part of our community engagement, particularly where the Honor Guard is concerned, and has really done a great job of allowing us to push that ball forward to represent the agency in the community and statewide and nationally. With the trip to DC Several years that I'm aware of, we've only really been focused in on getting back there, probably since 2021. But I know officers who have retired here now that used to attend and I have pictures of them from serving in. The uniform has changed several times as well, but we used to have a white shirt with a gold I guess it's a cravat and there was a specialized headgear with it as well. So there's people who have been serving in the Honor Guard At least the pictures I've seen is at least since the 90s.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. That's awesome. We worked on a project together, you and public affairs, where we had students work to design the flag that we use for some of these ceremonies, and that was pretty cool.
Speaker 3:So the department flag is a physical representation of our agency that we are allowed that we use to display our presence, much like any other flag would be utilized when we present colors.
Speaker 3:We use three flags in particular. We have the American flag, we have the state of Florida flag and we have the agency flag as well, and it was I think it was important for us to modernize that image for us consistent with a lot of the modernization that's going on in the police department over the past few years. So we have a couple of those that's integral to what we do and that's the flag we take. So if we were to go to a, when we went to Claremont, for instance, we did not, we took our. We take all of our equipment with us to these events because we don't know exactly what is going to be asked of us at any given time. So we're prepared for just about every eventuality. But invariably the agency flags are represented somewhere along the way for the family to be able to come by, and when the family passes the flags are dipped in honor of the sacrifice.
Speaker 1:It's sort of like a salute. Oh wow, so I know you sent some photos in. Do you want to talk about some of those?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the photographs actually provide a good representation for our public who is unfamiliar with it's OK to discuss this, but a visual representation for our public who is unfamiliar with it's okay to discuss this, but a visual representation of what we're discussing might drive that point home as to where we would be seen and what we wear and what we're equipped with.
Speaker 3:The first photograph I sent you is, uh is actually one of our longest serving honor guard members, which is, uh, sro nick slover, and he's been with the honor guard, I think, since the mid 2000s as well.
Speaker 3:The photograph is of something that we all do, which is we help each other get dressed. It's not a very comfortable outfit to wear, it's not a very comfortable outfit to stand in, it's a lot going on and it's also rather difficult to equip yourself because of the way the Sam Brown is designed and where the, the rests for the belts are exist. So sometimes you need a little help from your friends and in this photograph that's exactly what we're doing. We're making sure nick is squared away. And then we have one of our other team leaders is sro clint atkinson, and he is our sort of our, our uniformity czar, so he'll he'll go through everyone to make sure that everybody is exactly the way they need to be. Make Make sure that the uniform is presented properly, because it's very important for us to be not only uniform but also to be representing the agency to the best of our ability with that outfit.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we'll be at events. And you're walking towards wherever we need to be and you feel a tug on your back or something, and that's just somebody. This is a little out of place. Let me get this.
Speaker 3:Next photograph is actually of SRO Clint Atkinson leading the team. I believe this is at a Blue Line Bears event where we present colors and you're the emcee, so you're probably the one who's up on stage with the microphone while this is occurring. This is part of the honor cordon that we did two years ago, and I think that's Officer Slover first, myself second and the rest of the team there behind us, but that gives a good representation of what that honor cordon looks like. Once you get past the four of us, you'll see uniforms that differ, headgear that changes, uniform colors change, and that's the entire line of officers that are waiting to receive the families of the fallen. This is just prior to one of the candlelight vigils. I think this is the 2023 candlelight vigil, where we're on the national lawn and we'll be in the blue polo shirts for that. You'll see our badges have the mourning band. That's very common when there is a line of duty, death or certain circumstances such as police, we will wear the shroud to indicate that we're in a period of mourning. Next shot is the four of us in front of the Capitol. That's where the national address occurs, on that national lawn, and that's where the dignitaries speak on Thursday, usually Thursday of that week. This is one of the funerals for one of the FHP troopers who passed away and the person who was here last time, detective Jenna Newton. She's in that photograph as well. She's also a member of the Honor Guard. We have a photograph with the chief.
Speaker 3:Last summer we did an event where we brought the entire Honor Guard for a uniformity inspection to make sure everybody had everything that they needed. So once a year we all get together and make sure that we have everything we need and that it's looking proper, it's in good serviceable condition or whether or not it needs replacement. We took the opportunity to get a couple of photographs and that was terrific. He's been incredibly supportive of this entire process. And then the next shot is of the entire team in the current uniform. When we get new members in, the uniform is actually rather difficult to assemble because the parts come from all over. So we have members that are still utilizing a class A uniform, which is what I would say is the business suit from the tuxedo. Step down from that and then, when we're able to get them fully equipped, we can do that inspection with everybody else.
Speaker 3:This is in Claremont and it is not uncommon for us to take a photograph with the grieving agencies, one of their vehicles, so that way we can share with with the community that that their police department represented at this somber occasion, and a fellow uh law enforcement agency. The next photo is at Blue Mass at St Andrews with and I think the sheriff's office is intermingled with us. It's not uncommon for us to do a uh a joint event with the Lee County Sheriff's office or the Fort Myers police department if it's something regional. And this, this photograph here is down at the eco park where we have a lot of our events. It's very common for us to be requested for events at our eco park, cause that's also where we have our veterans memorials.
Speaker 3:And then that was the next photograph is our team at the butterfly release and there's detective Newton, who went with us this year to DC and she's part of the honor corps and it's not uncommon. The last two times I've gone it's rained very hard on that day and you know I hate to say it this way, but it's almost like the sky is grieving with you for those moments and our team. This year, in front of the White House, there was a federal agencies that were regulating who entered this VIP area and I had asked them you know what constituted the VIP area, just as a point of conversation, and they said you know, you're part of the agency or you're part of the family. And it was at no time in my life more that I did not ever want to be a VIP. This was the most recent event. I believe this is at Mission Barbecue, where they asked us to present the colors for them for one of their events During Police Week. During Police Week. Terrific community partner.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for submitting all those pictures and kind of going through and giving people a better idea of what exactly you guys do, why you're so important.
Speaker 4:I just appreciate the opportunity to come on and talk about this stuff.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you coming my pleasure.
Speaker 3:I think the genesis for us wanting to explain our function was we've received quite a few questions. I've even seen it on social where people are like what is an honor guard? What does an honor guard do, you know? It was sort of like it was inquisitive. You know there's this function of the police department and we're not quite sure what it is and why it exists the way it does. So hopefully we had the opportunity to clear some of that up for our community.
Speaker 1:You did great. You guys both did great job and welcome back. I think you're our first repeat guest besides the chief, so congrats. We appreciate you Welcome Mercedes coming back.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks yes.
Speaker 1:I'm so happy you're back.
Speaker 2:I've missed you. I'm happy to be back. I missed you too.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, thank you all so much for joining us and for anyone who's watching or listening. Thank you, and we will catch you next time.
