It is good to live in a community that respects the men and women who serve daily in law enforcement with local, state and federal agencies.

Today, as sheriff, I join others in this worthy profession as we recognize the men and women who daily provide for our safety and the more than 14,000 officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Police Memorial Week was proclaimed by Congressional action in 1962 in remembrance  of those who sacrificed their own life for the protection of communities across the nation.  President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 on October 1, 1962 but twenty years went by before the first public ceremony was held to honor those serving in law enforcement.   

At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. thousands will gather to pay homage to those who died in 2006.

The Bradley – Cleveland Emergency Services Memorial bears the names of fallen officers and emergency service workers who lost their lives in the line of duty.   

Sheriff Israel L. Smith died of a gunshot while leading his deputies on a whiskey raid in 1922; Deputy Taylor Cawood died in 1932 while returning to Tennessee with a prisoner; Patrolman Bud Cash was killed in a crash at the intersection of Inman and Ocoee Streets while running emergency traffic; Deputy Ken Wright Sr. was killed by gunfire in 1971 while backing up a Cleveland Police officer on Broomfield Road; and in 1989 Reserve Deputy Al McCollum died while serving with the Cleveland – Bradley County Rescue Squad during a rescue attempt in Meigs County.   

According to the Constable Public Safety Memorial Foundation, in the U.S:

• Over 6,000 officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1960. Between 150 and 165 die each year.
• A police officer dies in the line of duty every 57 hours.
• Two police officers are wounded by gunfire everyday.
• Most deaths occur during arrests, disturbances and in car crashes.
• Most officer deaths occur between 4:01 p.m. and midnight.
• Twenty-five percent of officers are killed with their own weapon.
• Most deaths are within the first minute of contact with the suspect.
• Over 68,000 officers are assaulted every year. That is about 189 every day.

 Law enforcement officers are only human and they make mistakes. But they are deserving of your gratitude when they do a good job, your respect for the risks they take, and a place in your heart for the job they do keeping all of us safe.

The Law Enforcement Officers Prayer

O Almighty God, Whose great power and eternal wisdom embrace the universe, watch over all the police officers and law enforcement officers. Protect them from harm in the performance of their duty to stop crime, robberies, riots and violence. We pray, help them keep our streets and homes safe day and night. We recommend them to your loving care because their duty is dangerous. Grant them your unending strength and courage in their daily assignments. Dear God, protect these brave men and women, grant them your almighty protection, unite them safely with their families after duty ends. For these men and women truly walk the "Thin Blue Line", Amen.