Honoring the Fallen at Police Week (photos)


Thousands of law enforcement officers from around the country and beyond assembled on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 15, to salute those who died in the line of duty and the families they left behind. President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address at the solemn memorial service, the climax of Police Week in the nation’s capital.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.

The names of 371 law enforcement officers, including 158 who died in 2018, were formally dedicated on the prior Monday evening, during the 31st annual candlelight vigil, held on the National Mall. There are now 21,910 names engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial..

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Judicary Square provided a focal point for many of the ceremonies. Nearby stood the National Law Enforcement Museum, which officially opened to the public on Oct. 13, 2018.

Among the other listed activities were the annual Steve Young National Honor Guard and Pipe Band competitions, an Emerald Society Pipe Band march, a 5K run and the Police Unity Tour bicycle ride arrival ceremony.

A week earlier, on May 6, a Washington-area memorial service was held at Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters on Indiana Avenue NW. Many government agencies, including the FBI, the National Park Police and the Capitol Police, were represented, as were local police departments.

View Jeff Malet’s photos from National Police Week by clicking on the photo icons below.

 

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