A New Police Station, a Memorial Walkway and the Rose & Shield

Last year, as Chief Anthony Pesare of the Middletown, RI, Police Department was going over the final designs of his department’s new headquarters building, he had an inspired idea: create a memorial walkway in front of the station to “recognize the sacrifice others have made in order to assure our future.” Chief Pesare contacted the NLEOMF about incorporating our iconic “Rose & Shield” logo into the walkway design.

On Wednesday afternoon, September 2, Chief Pesare and other leaders of the community on Narragansett Bay formally dedicated the new police station at 123 Valley Road. Members of the public were invited to tour facility and appreciate the memorial walkway – the latter funded, in part, by donations from the community.

While the Middletown Police Department has never experienced a line-of-duty death, the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial are filled with some 18,661 officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice throughout U.S. history. Forty-one of those heroes are from the state of Rhode Island, including three officers from the community of Newport, about seven miles south of Middletown, who were killed in the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century.

Chief Pesare explained the significance of the walkway this way: “When designing the new station we felt it important to honor those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our memorial walkway, which includes the blue shield and red rose of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, is a reminder to all who enter our station that we shall never forget those who, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, ‘gave their last full measure of devotion.’”