Posted: 12/18/2018
Police at Parkland unite patients, visitors, staff through song
It’s shift change at the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department. Officers are giving reports, completing paperwork and heading to their assigned posts. Down the hall the sound of a choir of angelic voices wafts from behind closed doors in roll call.
Wait! What?
You heard right. The 17 men and women of the DCHD Police Blue Notes choir are rehearsing for upcoming performances in conjunction with chaplains from the Parkland Health & Hospital System Pastoral Care Department. Comprised of lieutenants, police and public service officers, a dispatcher, detective, clerical staff and a driver, the Blue Notes is the brainchild of Lt. Anetta Linson, a 14-year veteran of the DCHD Police Department.
“One day I was thinking about the way the nation is heading and asked myself, ‘what is it that brings everyone together?’” Lt. Linson said. “It was simple: food, togetherness and music.” And the rest they say is beautiful music.
Well, sort of.
As word spread through the ranks that the police department was forming a choir, Lt. Linson was busy singing the virtues of the effort and began actively “recruiting” members. “I’ve been told it was hard to say no to me,” she said, her ever present smile beaming.
One by one she approached her colleagues in blue. “Police Officer Roy Johnson directs his church choir, Police Officer Quincy Jones plays bugle, guitar and piano, Call Taker Dominique Roquemore played a variety of reed instruments in high school, Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) Michelle Dupree is a former lead singer with a band, and Detective Darlene Pipkin can really hit the high notes,” she said. “And they’re just a few of those who willingly gave up their off-duty time just for the sheer fun, fellowship and the opportunity to strike a chord.”
Recalling that first rehearsal TAC Officer Dupree, a former band member and self-proclaimed karaoke enthusiast, said, laughing, “We sounded like a bunch of cats crying. We were all over the place, but we were having fun. There’s something about music that brings people together and lifts their spirits. Plus, beyond that, this goes to show that police officers can sing – and we’re pretty good!”
Lifting spirits is just what Police Officer Johnson did as a member of the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division Band the “Amber Tight.” Johnson enlisted to become a part of the Army’s military police but when recruiters discovered his musical background they encouraged him to become a member of the U.S. Army Band. At first he was reluctant to share his assignment with friends for fear of ridicule, but family members made a convincing case by questioning whether bands would actually be deployed to a combat zone.
They guessed wrong.
Sgt. Johnson was deployed to Baghdad where he performed for troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 in 2004. “I was honored to bring a little joy to my fellow soldiers in combat,” Officer Johnson said, noting that today he’s content to step back and let others take the lead. “Being a part of this choir has really touched me. We all have one goal, and that is to bring everyone together through music.”
Nodding in agreement, Lt. Linson added, “Music is the universal language and even for a few minutes, if we can lift a person up through song, well, there’s nothing better.”
With the sound of “crying cats” long since a thing of the past, the Blue Notes in conjunction with Parkland’s chaplains are preparing for their second, third and encore public appearances. Those who are not on duty serving patients, visitors and staff will be raising their collective voices in holiday songs from 11:30 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 18, 19 and 20 in Parkland Memorial Hospital’s second floor lobby, 5200 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, 75235.
“The Blue Notes isn’t about me. It’s about everyone coming together, closing their eyes and feeling the music,” Lt. Linson said. “If this doesn’t foster community, I don’t know what does.”