Law Enforcement Memorial Day: Fallen Police Remembered

Flags across the country flew at half staff Tuesday in honor of law enforcement officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty.

May 15 is National Peace Officers' Day, one day during National Police Week. John F. Kennedy proclaimed the holiday in 1962.

To memorialize fallen officers, police from around the country meet at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Some Howard County , a bike ride from Howard County to the memorial. Others traveled to the memorial on foot, participating in a  from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., that proceeded through US 1.

The officers and support personnel wear bracelets with the inscriptions of the officers they are memorializing. Seven law enforcement since 1924.

The sixth officer was Scott Wheeler. On June 6, 2007, Wheeler was working traffic enforcement on Route 32 when he attempted to pull over a driver going more than 75 mph in a 55-mph zone, according to Howard County Police Chief William McMahon.

Distracted by her cell phone, McMahon said, the driver struck Wheeler. He died two days later. The driver was fined $310 for speeding and negligent driving.

Last week, the State Highway Administration to memorialize the seventh officer killed in Howard County in the line of duty.

Maryland State Trooper Shaft S. Hunter died May 21, 2011, when his patrol car ran into a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of I-95 south near Route 32.

The highway sign, said Chaplain Paul Merkle, will serve as "a constant reminder of [Hunter's] service and of the sacrifice that troopers all over the nation face each day."

With reporting by Elkridge Patch editor Elizabeth Janney.