Newsroom

24th Annual Candlelight Vigil

Tonight, the nation paused to formally dedicate the names of
362 fallen law enforcement heroes, added to the National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial in 2012. Of the 362 names, 163 were officers killed in the
line of duty during 2011 and 199 were names of officers previously undiscovered.

Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and U.S.
Attorney General, Eric H. Holder, Jr., delivered remarks. Attorney General
Holder and Concerns of Police Survivors National President, Linda Moon Gregory, led the lighting of the candles.
Detective Brian Phillips, La Porte (IN) Police Department;
Lieutenant Mavis Johnson, Baton Rouge (LA) Police Department; and Officer
Bridget Sanchez, Miami-Dade (FL) Police Department, all performed moving musical
tributes during the ceremony.
The national monument now contains the names of 19,660
fallen law enforcement officers—from all 50 states; the District of Columbia;
U.S. territories; federal law enforcement, corrections, railroad and military
police agencies—who have died in the performance of duty throughout U.S.
history, dating back to the first known officer death in 1791.
Special thanks to Officer.com for providing a free webcast
of tonight’s services.