National Police Week 2016: Honoring Fallen Officers

Photo via Chicago Police Department Facebook

By TANYA SNYDER (Patch Staff/Washington, DC)

Washington, DC, May 13, 2016 -- Tens of thousands of police officers and their families, as well as the families of the fallen, will converge on the nation’s capital this week to honor the more than 20,000 other law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

An additional 129 are being honored who had died previously, but whose names hadn't yet been dedicated on the memorial.

“Police Week provides the law enforcement community a time to come together and share with each other some of the highs and lows of the work they do and the impact it has on their lives,“ said National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund spokesperson Steve Groeninger. "We honor the fallen, but we also lift those who currently serve in the profession, lift the surviving community of the fallen, and help them through the grief and the struggles that they have. And part of honoring their loved ones is memorializing or commemorating that officer’s service and sacrifice."

This year's official Police Week dates are Sunday, May 15 through Saturday, May 21, though activities have already begun. The Annual Blue Mass was held Tuesday, May 3, and Washington, D.C. area police officers honored their fallen members on Monday of this week.

Although the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation held events during the first week of May remembering the 574 officers who died in the line of duty over the past 163 years, Chicago police officers are in Washington, D.C. this weekend "to honor all of those that have given the ultimate sacrifice while protecting Americas communities."

Highlights of Police Week included the 28th annual candlelight vigil held Friday evening on the National Mall. The National Police Survivors Conference will let families and co-workers of fallen police officers can come together for support. And the 35th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service will be on Sunday, May 15, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., followed immediately by a wreath-laying ceremony.

The full schedule is available here.

As part of police week, billboards with a tribute to each officer will be displayed in his or her hometown. During the annual Candlelight Vigil on Friday evening, all of Clear Channel Outdoor's large format digital billboards paused for two minutes on "a single iconic image" in remembrance of the officers.