Fallen Arizona Officer Honored In National Police Week Ceremonies

WASHINGTON, DC — The names of nearly 200 local, state and federal police officers and agents who died in the line of duty in 2017 will be read Tuesday in the 37th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service. They include one police officer from Arizona.

The ceremony in Washington, D.C., is part of a week full of activities for National Police Week, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday, May 19. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.

The two-hour commemoration begins at 11 a.m. near the west front of the U.S. Capitol. It includes both a wreath-laying ceremony and a memorial service.

In Arizona, El Mirage Police Officer Paul Lazinsky suffered a fatal heart attack on Dec. 12, 2017, while involved in a foot chase of a wanted juvenile. Other officers provided medical assistance, but he died a short time later.

Lazinsky’s colleagues were able to apprehend the suspect he was chasing, according to information on the Officer Down Memorial Page.

A U.S. Army veteran, he had been with the El Mirage Police Department for 17 years. He leaves behind his wife, three children, his mother and two siblings.

Between 25,000 and 40,000 people from police departments across the country and agencies around the world take part in National Police Week activities in Washington, D.C.

Image: In this 2017 file photo, the Phoenix Police Department honor guard is the first department to stand watch during the 'Standing Watch for the Fallen' flag ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)