Four Phila. Officers Killed in 2008 Honored During Special Engraving Ceremony

The names of four Philadelphia Police officers killed in the line of duty in 2008 were engraved Wednesday on the marble walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. Sergeants Stephen Liczbinski and Patrick McDonald were shot and killed by armed criminals, and Sergeant Timothy Simpson and Officer Isabel Nazario died in violent traffic crashes.

The four deaths were the most suffered by any U.S. law enforcement agency last year."2008 was a tragic and heartbreaking year for the Philadelphia Police Department," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which maintains the nation's monument to fallen officers. "By inscribing their names on this national Memorial, we ensure these heroes will never be alone, they will never be forgotten."

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey led a delegation of family members, loved ones and police officials from Philadelphia to witness the engraving of the four names on panels 3 and 4 of the east wall of the Memorial, located in Judiciary Square in downtown Washington, DC.

Dedicated in 1991, the Memorial now honors 18,661 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history. Since its first line-of-duty death in 1828, the Philadelphia Police Department has lost 251 officers, the third highest total among municipal police agencies in the country, behind only the departments in New York City and Chicago.

Philadelphia media covers the event:
Philly.com, article: "In D.C., remembering 4 fallen Phila. officers"
CBS3, video: "Slain Philly Officers Honored at National Memorial"
WPVI-TV ABC, article: "Fallen Philadelphia Officers Remembered"

Chicago Constable's Death from 1853 Finally Memorialized

Constable James Quinn served the Chicago Police Department for just nine months before being killed in the line of duty in 1853. He was serving an arrest warrant on a man in a notorious criminal hideout known as the Sands when he was severely beaten and attacked by a saloon owner who was attempting to help the suspect.

Constable Quinn suffered fractured ribs and a punctured lung; yet, he returned twice more, suffering severe beatings each time, to arrest the original suspect, along with the saloon owner. He died as a result of his injuries, just three days after his original visit, on December 5, 1853.

Constable Quinn's death marked the Chicago Police Department's first line-of-duty death, and recognition for it has long been elusive. Chicago Alderman Ed Burke was among those who championed recognizing Constable Quinn's death for many years, and included him in a historical survey of Chicago officers killed in the line of duty that he published with Thomas O'Gorman in 2006 - End of Watch: Chicago Police Killed in the Line of Duty, 1853-2006.

Constable Quinn's name was engraved in Panel 24-E, Line 26. His death is one of the 254 historical cases discovered through research that are being honored this year. There are now 474 Chicago Police officers honored on the Memorial, the second most of any law enforcement agency in U.S. history.

Read more about Constable James Quinn at the Officer Down Memorial Page.

See the full list of officers whose names are being engraved this year.

Engraving Continues, U.S. Border Patrol Agents Engraved, Deputy Chief Stands Watch

U.S. Border Patrol Deputy Chief Ronald Colburn, accompanied by several other Border Patrol agents, attended the engraving of Senior Patrol Agent Luis Alberto Aguilar and Border Patrol Agent Jarod C. Dittman at 11 a.m. (EDT) today.

An Academy class from the Prince George's County Police Department, who happened to be there on a special trip to the Memorial to recognize Prince George's County officers killed in the line of duty, joined the Border Patrol agents in standing watch as the names of Senior Agent Aguilar and Agent Dittman were engraved into the Memorial.

Deputy Chief Colburn said a few words before the engraving took place, speaking eloquently about the importance of serving America through law enforcement and the legacy that both agents left behind. He also made a special note of the danger one faces when becoming an officer, impressing the significance of this fact on the recruit officers, commenting that they may one day face the loss of one of their fellow classmates.

Senior Agent Aguilar and Agent Dittman are two of 387 officers whose names are being engraved in the Memorial walls in a two-week process that started this past Tuesday, April 21, preparing for National Police Week in May.

Read the full list of officers whose names are being engraved this year.

Watch the Candlelight Vigil live - learn about our first-ever video-cast.

Use Twitter to talk about National Police Week, join the conversation: #NPW09

21st Candlelight Vigil - First-ever Live Videocast

NLEOMF has been hosting the Candlelight Vigil at the Memorial in Washington, DC, for more than two decades - before the Memorial was even completed. This year, with the help of Officer.com, the moving ceremony will be videocasted live over the Internet for the first time ever.

This means that no matter where you are or where you live, you will be able to participate live in the Vigil - you can see the candles light up, watch the beams of blue light spread to make a shield of thin blue lines, and listen to every tone of "Going Home." This year, the names of 387 officers will be engraved in the Memorial, each of them read aloud during the Vigil ceremony.

The Candlelight Vigil will begin at 8 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, May 13. To register online for the live videocast, visit www.nleomf.org/NPW2009.

“Almost every other day in our country, a law enforcement officer sacrifices his or her life for the safety and protection of the rest of us," said Craig Floyd, NLEOMF chairman and CEO. "Coming to the Candlelight Vigil in person or viewing the ceremony over the videocast is a wonderful way for a grateful nation to show its appreciation and respect for these American heroes.”

More information about the Candlelight Vigil and National Police Week.
A complete list of officers whose names are being added to the Memorial this year.

Engraving Day Ceremony News Coverage & Video

View Washington, DC, local news coverage and watch video of this year's Engraving Day Ceremony, held at 11 a.m., on April 21. The ceremony marks the beginning of the two-week engraving process that adds officers to the Memorial walls.

News Coverage
Video: WUSA9
Video: NBC Washington
Video: My Fox DC
Print: Washington Examiner

Full Ceremony Video

Engraving Day: the solemn process begins again

Today, at 11 a.m., the solemn process of adding the names of more fallen law enforcement heroes to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., began yet again.

Under mostly sunny skies, and working with great care and precision, engravers Kirk Bockman and Jim Lee sand-blasted seven fallen officers’ names into Panel 6-West, Line 27, of the Memorial—part of the annual Engraving Day ceremony that marks the symbolic beginning of the two-week process of adding new names.

Bockman and Lee have engraved every single name on the Memorial’s marble walls, dating back to its construction and dedication in 1991. Once they are finished adding this year’s names—a total of 387—the pair from Denver, CO, will have engraved 18,661 names on the nation’s monument to fallen law enforcement officers.

The 387 names being added this year include 133 officers who died in 2008, plus 254 who died in previous years but whose sacrifice has just recently come to light.

One of those heroes is Prince George’s County (MD) Police Sergeant Richard Findley. He died last June 27 after being intentionally struck and killed by the driver of a stolen vehicle who was trying to elude police. Family members, friends and co-workers of Sergeant Findley, including Chief of Police Roberto Hylton, were on hand to witness his name being engraved.

“Police officers dedicate their lives to working in an occupation where life and death too often meet. Sergeant Findley, unfortunately, lost his life while serving as a protector to the residents of Prince George’s County,” Chief Hylton said.

In addition to Sergeant Findley, the following officers were added to Panel 6-West, Line 27 Tuesday morning:

Patrolman Irving Baker, Warren (OH) Police Department, EOW January 6, 1933;
Deputy Juan Escalante, Los Angeles County (CA) Sheriff’s Office, EOW August 2, 2008;
Private John Fox, Texas Rangers, EOW November 16, 1859;
Deputy W.H. Kelly, Trinity County (TX) Sheriff’s Office, EOW April 24, 1911;
Special Agent Dirk Miller, Army Criminal Investigative Command, EOW December 12, 1985;
Officer Kenneth Surles, Pell City (AL) Police Department, EOW July 4, 2008.

The 387 heroes engraved this month will be formally dedicated on the Memorial during the 21st Annual Candlelight Vigil, at 8 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, May 13. And, for the first time, we will be providing a fee live videocast of the vigil over the Internet. Register today at http://www.officer.com/events/candlelight09/register/index.jsp.

Bombs: A Deadly Threat to Police Officers

by Craig W. Floyd, Chairman & CEO, NLEOMF
Published in American Police Beat, March 2009

Los Angeles Police Detective Arleigh McCree was widely recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world. He was in charge of the bomb squad assembled for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He had helped investigate the 1983 bomb blast at the Marine barracks in Lebanon. In fact, his reputation was so great that Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy once offered him $140,000 to train terrorists.

He was the man his department always called in whenever there was a bomb threat. On February 8, 1986, Arleigh McCree got the call. That morning, police had gone to the home of Donnell Morse, a Hollywood makeup artist. He was a suspect in an earlier shooting and police were there to search for the gun used in that crime. They found a gun, but they also got another surprise: two pipe bombs in the garage.

Detective McCree and another member of the bomb squad, 17-year police veteran Ronald Ball, were immediately summoned to the scene. The two officers examined the bombs and determined they were live. They also came to another alarming conclusion—the bombs were booby trapped.

Detective McCree warned his fellow officers of the danger and everyone but himself and Officer Ball backed away. The officers then began to diffuse the bombs by hand. That's when the explosion occurred. Detective McCree was killed instantly. Officer Ball was rushed to the hospital and died a few hours later.

Throughout history, 73 law enforcement officers have been killed by bomb blasts. Some, like Detective McCree and Officer Ball, died because it is their job to disarm bombs before they harm innocent citizens. Others were targeted by bomb-wielding terrorists. More than a few were simply in harm's way when trouble came calling — a common problem for law officers.

The first known bombing incident to take the life of a police officer occurred on May 4, 1886. Seven Chicago police officers were killed when a bomb exploded on a city street. The bomb-throwing incident was part of the "Haymarket Riot," a tragic civil disorder centered around a labor dispute. Killed in the blast were Patrolmen Mathias J. Degan, John Barrett, George Miller, Timothy Flavin, Thomas Redden, Nels Hansen and Michael Sheehand. Some 70 others in the crowd were injured in the bombing.

Even under the most favorable conditions, explosives can still be extremely dangerous, especially those that are illegally manufactured. In 1992, Special Agent Johnny Masengale with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) was working with a team of federal and military explosives experts at Fort Lewis, Washington, preparing to destroy a highly volatile mixture of explosive materials that had been seized the day before. As they were preparing for a controlled ignition, the materials detonated prematurely.

On December 12, 2008, law enforcement officers responding to a bomb threat at a bank in the town of Woodburn, Oregon, discovered a suspicious case in the bushes nearby. As they attempted to secure the case, it exploded, killing Woodburn Police Captain Thomas Tennant and Oregon State Police Senior Trooper William Hakim.

To read Mr. Floyd's article in full, click here.