Character and Bond’s love of life recalled

Karen Zekan

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

A five-year service pin is a noble achievement for a police officer.

So when Erik Bond's anniversary date rolled around in February, his squad at the Northeast Area Command knew that merely handing it to the patrolman just wouldn't cut it.

They didn't warn anyone in the hospital they were coming, and made Bond's wife, Mikki, keep the plan a secret. Then, with as much drama as they could muster, Bond's entire squad piled into their patrol cars, cruised to Sunrise Mountainview Hospital and Medical Center, and rushed to his bedside for a rousing presentation.

"He just lit up," said Officer Robert Schmidt, Bond's former partner. "He was so surprised. Being a police officer meant everything to Erik. That's a memory of him I never will forget."

More than 200 fellow Metro officers and friends joined Bond's family Tuesday night for a memorial service at Palm Mortuary off West Cheyenne Avenue celebrating a life cut short at 31 by cancer.

"Being a police officer was more than a profession to Erik, it was more than a career," Sheriff Jerry Keller said during his eulogy. "It was a passion with Erik Bond."

Upon graduation from Metro's academy in 1991, Bond was assigned to the Northeast Area Command where Keller was then captain.

Keller said Bond's personnel file held high marks and letters of thanks from citizens the patrolman assisted, among them a shop owner victimized by a robber Bond apprehended and a woman whose shattered nerves Bond calmed after a car accident.

Keller's favorite description was in a letter penned by a young boy Bond helped with an Eagle Scout project.

"In the (letter) were two words: 'character counts,'" the sheriff said. "Erik Bond had character, and that is something we all strive for. ... He was someone others will look to as a mentor."

Leaving the podium, Keller spoke quietly to Bond's wife, then with a hug presented her with an America flag.

Bond grew up in Barrington, Ill., lettering in varsity sports before graduating in 1984 from Barrington High School. He served in the Marine Reserves for six years, and in 1989 received his bachelor of arts degree in criminology from the University of South Florida.

His goal was to join Metro's search and rescue unit. He pursued it by working out and trained in negotiation techniques to save hostages in barricaded situations.

In February 1995, Bond was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease while on vacation in Washington with his wife and daughter, Arissa, then 1. Doctors later deemed his painful condition non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a disorder limiting the body's ability to fight infection.

After chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Bond underwent a bone marrow transplant last summer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle that doctors said was the man's last hope.

The community opened its pocketbooks when medical bills wiped out the family's savings, donating more than $100,000. A grateful Mikki Bond returned personal thank-you cards to contributors, among them Perma-Bilt Homes, Walker Furniture and tennis star Andre Agassi.

A bright point came a few weeks ago when Bond joined fellow officers for lunch, said Officer Jack Spencer.

"His cancer was in remission, and the doctors had said he could go back to work," Spencer said.

Yet he never got the chance to don his uniform. Cancer that had laid dormant in his system claimed him Friday.

Tom Cameron, a volunteer hospital chaplain who spent many hours with Bond as a friend and in prayer, described a devoted father, faithful husband and a religious man "obsessed with doing the right thing."

"Erik was humble to a fault, for in humility sometimes advancement of self doesn't happen," Cameron said.

Hockey was a special bond the two shared; both played, and Bond was an avid Chicago Blackhawks fan, Cameron said.

"We discussed getting out on the street and finding out who was better," Cameron said. "I regret that we will never get that chance."

Sgt. Dennis Thompson, Bond's supervisor, echoed a frustration many friends shared after the ceremony.

"It's not my place to question the Lord," Thompson said, "but I can't help but wonder why people like Erik Bond are taken from us."