Monday, May 13, 2013

25th Annual Candlelight Vigil

Tonight, the nation paused to formally dedicate the names of 321 fallen law enforcement heroes, added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2012. Of the 321 names, 120 were officers killed in the line of duty during 2012 and 201 were names of officers previously undiscovered.



Following the presentation of the colors by the United States Park Police, Sergeant Katina Murphy of the Arizona Department of Corrections performed the national anthem and Chaplain Reginald H. Wilborn led the invocation. Craig Floyd, Chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund welcomed thousands of law enforcement officers, survivors and supporters in attendance before introducing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano who delivered special remarks. U.S. Attorney General, Eric H. Holder, Jr., delivered the keynote address.



Sergeant Michael Devine, New York City (NY) Police Department; Officer Steve Butterbrodt, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey PBA; Sergeant Ron Fabiani, Stone Park (IL) Police Department; and Sergeant Austin Weinstock, Triton (IL) Police Department, all performed moving musical tributes during the ceremony.

The national monument now contains the names of 19,981 fallen law enforcement officers—from all 50 states; the District of Columbia; U.S. territories; federal law enforcement, corrections, railroad and military police agencies—who have died in the performance of duty throughout U.S. history, dating back to the first known officer death in 1791.

Special thanks to Officer.com for providing a free webcast of tonight’s services.

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