Memorial Service Honors East Providence Officers

Editor's note: Candy Seel submitted this letter.

The recently dedicated was the setting for the eighth-annual East Providence Police Officers Memorial Service. Held on the first Sunday following May 15, the day was designated in 1962 as National Police Officers Memorial Day by President John F. Kennedy. This annual event commemorates the more than 100 East Providence police officers who have passed away, especially the three officers who tragically perished in the line of duty.

Among the speakers were Mayor Bruce Rogers, City Manager Peter Graczykowski and Chief of Police Joseph Tavares, who all extolled current and former police officers who willingly put their lives on the line on a daily basis.

East Providence High School student Shelbi Escobar sang the National Anthem. The Rhode Island National Guard honored the fall officers with a volley and salute, and local musician Gaston Malloy played a poignant rendition of Taps.

This service has been sponsored annually since 2005 by Lodge #1 East Providence Fraternal Order of Police, currently headed by EPPD Detective Corporal Eric Rodrigues, and by its civilian counterpart, the East Providence Fraternal Order of Police Associates, whose current president is Pat Brooks.