Sedona AZ – In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Again this year, communities across the United States will come together during National Police Week, May 12-18, 2019, to honor and remember those law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the family members, friends and fellow officers they left behind.

This year, the names of 371 officers killed in the line of duty are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. These 371 officers include 158 officers who were killed during 2018, plus 213 officers who died in previous years, but whose stories of sacrifice had been lost to history until now.

Nogales Police Officer Jesus Cordova and Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Tyler Edenhofer will be inducted into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Officer Jesus Cordova was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a carjacking suspect on April 27, 2018. Trooper Tyler Edenhofer was shot and killed in the line of duty during the late night hours of July 25, 2018.

The names of all 371 fallen officers nationwide will be formally dedicated during the 31st Annual Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13, 2019 to be held on the National Mall.

The Candlelight Vigil is one of many commemorative events taking place in the nation’s capital during National Police Week 2019. The national observance is organized by a group of organizations led by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), Concerns of Police Survivors, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary.

On May 15th each year, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary host a ceremony on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol to honor fallen law enforcement officers and their families. In tribute to American law enforcement officers and at the request of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Public Law 103-322 designates May 15th National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is one of only two days each year during which government agencies, businesses and residents are to fly their U.S. flags at half-staff.

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