MAY 2023 - Blues Vol 39 No. 5

“When a police officer

“When a police officer is killed, it’s not an agency that loses an officer, it’s an entire nation”. Chris Cosgriff, Officer Down Memorial Page Founder. According to www.policeweek.org, in 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. In 1994, a subsequent proclamation by President Bill Clinton directed that the flag be flown at half-mast on Peace Officers Memorial Day. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation’s Capital each year. The National Peace Officers Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil, which is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and seminars sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world. This provides a unique opportunity to meet others who work in law enforcement.” Since 1791, when the first police death was recorded, there have been more than 21,000 law enforcement officers killed while on duty. There are currently 21,541 names engraved on National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. 3. The 1920s were the deadliest decade in law enforcement history, when a total of 2,480 officers died, an average of almost 248 a year. The deadliest year in U.S. police history was 1930, when 310 officers were killed. During the last 10 years, the average number of police deaths per year dropped to 151. The U.S. has close to 18,000 separate police agencies, each with their own internal structures and regulations. This includes federal agencies, local police, sheriff’s departments, and college campus police forces. 60 The BLUES The BLUES 61