Peace Officers Memorial Day

This week is National Police Week, and today, May 15, is Peace Officers Memorial Day. This is the day set aside to honor the memory of those law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty.

The American Police Hall of Fame says that a police officer is killed in the line of duty about once every 57 hours, and that

Between 1976 and 1998, of the over 1,800 officers killed--

• 16% were on disturbance calls
• 14% were in robbery arrest situations
• 14% were investigating suspicious persons/circumstances
• 13% were making traffic pursuits/stops
• 13% were attempting arrests for offenses other than robbery or burglary
• 10% were in ambush situations
• 7% were in an arrest situation involving drug-related matters
• 5% were in a burglary arrest situation arrests
• 6% were in other situations

I would like to pay homage to all peace officers who have died in the past year. They are:

• Deputy Sheriff James Edward Throne, Kern County Sheriff's Department, CA
• Deputy Sheriff Michael Sean Thomas, Bibb County Sheriff's Office, GA
• Sergeant Leslie Eugene (Les) Wilmott, Kiefer Police Department, OK
• Lieutenant Michael C. Avilucea, New Mexico State Police
• Police Officer Erik David Hite, Tucson Police Department, AZ
• Police Officer Everett William Dennis, Carthage Police Department, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Anthony Shane Tate, Grundy County Sheriff's Department, TN
• Police Officer Todd Allen Bahr, Fredericksburg Police Department, VA
• Sergeant Barbara Leggett Shumate, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Steven Christopher Boehm, Onslow County Sheriff's Department, NC
• Deputy Sheriff Jose Antonio (Tony) Diaz, Yolo County Sheriff's Department, CA
• Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr., North Carolina Highway Patrol
• Correctional Officer Jose Rivera, Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Police Officer Nicholas Karl Heine, Pueblo Police Department, CO
• Sergeant Richard Scott Findley, Prince George's County Police Department, MD
• Police Officer Gary Allen Gryder, Houston Police Department, TX
• Police Officer Richard M. Francis, Chicago Police Department, IL
• Police Officer Kenneth (Greg) Surles, Pell City Police Department, AL
• Agent Osvaldo Pérez-León, Puerto Rico Police Department
• Police Officer Joshua T. Miktarian, Twinsburg Police Department, OH
• Police Officer Andrew Allen Widman, Fort Myers Police Department, FL
• Deputy Sheriff Anthony E. Forgione, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Police Officer Aldo A. Rossi Jr., Port Dickinson Police Department, NY
• Deputy Sheriff Juan A. Escalante, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, CA
• Trooper Shawn W. Snow, New York State Police, NY
• Detective Sandra Joyce Bullock, Bushnell Police Department, FL
• Deputy Sheriff Dennis Carl Compton, Colleton County Sheriff's Office, SC
• Officer Monte Ruby, CoxHealth Department of Public Safety, MO
• Agent Orlando Gonzalez-Ortiz, Puerto Rico Police Department, PR
• Detective Michael Smith Phillips, Virginia Beach Police Department, VA
• Lieutenant Michael Patrick Howe, Baltimore County Police Department, MD
• Deputy Probation Officer Irene Beatrice Rios, Imperial County Probation Department, CA
• Lieutenant Robert James Curry, Gulfport Police Department, MS
• Sergeant Nelson Kai Ng, Ellensburg Police Department, WA
• Deputy Sheriff Martha Ann Woods-Shareef, Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Department, LA
• Ordinance Officer Kathy Ann Cox, Gordon County Sheriff's Office, GA
• Police Officer Thomas Emil Raji, Perth Amboy Police Department, NJ
• Police Officer Melvin Eugene Dyer, Duxbury Police Department, MA
• Police Officer Timothy Allen Haley, Columbus Division of Police, OH
• Trooper Evan Frederick Schneider, Montana Highway Patrol, MT
• Special Agent Thomas Joseph Byrne, United States Drug Enforcement Administration
• Deputy Sheriff Anne Marie Jackson, Skagit County Sheriff's Office, WA
• Officer Christopher Kane, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, FL
• Police Officer Isabel Nazario, Philadelphia Police Department, PA
• Police Officer Kenneth A. Santucci, Belleville Police Department, NJ
• Deputy Sheriff Marty Michael Martin, Franklin County Sheriff's Department, OH
• Sergeant Paul Avery Starzyk, Martinez Police Department, CA
• Trooper Andrew James Stocks, North Carolina Highway Patrol, NC
• Sergeant Dario Scott Aponte, New Haven Police Department, CT
• Police Officer Grant Anthony Jansen, St. Charles Police Department, MO
• Police Officer III Spree Desha, Los Angeles Police Department, CA
• Sergeant Michael Christopher Weigand Jr., Latimore Township Police Department, PA
• Detective Tommy L. Keenm Harris County Sheriff's Department, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Adam William Klutz, Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, NC
• Officer Kristine Marie Fairbanks, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations
• Sergeant Patrick McDonald, Philadelphia Police Department, PA
• Staff Sergeant Steven Raul Medeiros, Kennesaw State University Department of Public Safety, GA
• Police Officer Nathaniel Taylor Jr., Chicago Police Department, IL
• Trooper First Class Mickey Charles Lippy, Maryland State Police
• Sergeant Robert Craig Douglas, Oklahoma City Police Department, OK
• Correctional Officer Douglas Eugene Falconer, Arizona Department of Corrections
• Correctional Officer Rodney Kelley, Alabama Department of Corrections
• Police Officer Bradley Alan Moody, Richmond Police Department, CA
• Deputy Sheriff David Whitfield Gilstrap Jr., Oconee County Sheriff's Office, GA
• Game Warden George Harold Whatley Jr., Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Law Enforcement Division
• Officer / Paramedic Bruce Wesley Harrolle, Arizona Department of Public Safety, AZ
• Deputy Sheriff Sarah Irene Haylett-Jones, Monroe County Sheriff's Department, IN
• Police Officer David Donald Tome, Northern York County Regional Police Department, PA
• Police Officer Richard Mark Bremer, Frederick City Police Department, MD
• Deputy Sheriff Randy Jay Hamson, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, CA
• Second Lieutenant Francis Joseph (Frank) Stecco, Fairfax County Police Department, VA
• Police Officer Shane Cory Figueroa, Phoenix Police Department, AZ
• Sergeant Michael R. King, University City Police Department, MO
• Police Officer Frank Paul Russo, Schaumburg Police Department, IL
• Detective Joseph M. Airhart Jr., Chicago Police Department, IL
• Police Officer Nathaniel Michael Burnfield, South Strabane Township Police Department, PA
• Police Officer Charles Benjamin Skinner, North Salt Lake Police Department, UT
• Deputy Sheriff Lawrence Wilhelm Canfield, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, CA
• Sergeant Darrell (Monty) Carmikle, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, AR
• Sergeant Timothy Simpson, Philadelphia Police Department, PA
• Special Agent Samuel Steele Hicks, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Police Officer Alex Del Rio, Hollywood Police Department, FL
• Deputy Sheriff Nick P. Pham, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Sheriff Steven Brent Lee Sr., Trinity County Sheriff's Department, TX
• Police Officer Robert A. Davis, San Antonio Police Department, TX
• Police Officer Timothy Scott Abernethy, Houston Police Department, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Brian DeWayne Denning, Sumner County Sheriff's Department, TN
• Senior Trooper William Robert Hakim, Oregon State Police, OR
• Captain Thomas Paul Tennant, Woodburn Police Department, OR
• Officer Joseph Paul Sanders, California Highway Patrol, CA
• Police Officer Mark Steven Simmons, Amarillo Police Department, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Keith Carter, Evangeline Parish Sheriff's Department, LA
• Deputy Sheriff William Kenneth Chadwell,Pickaway County Sheriff's Office, OH
• Sergeant Marc Charles Wilbur, Avon Park Police Department, FL
• Public Safety Officer Mason James Samborski, Oak Park Department of Public Safety, MI
• Senior Corporal Norman Smith, Dallas Police Department, TX
• Detention Officer Cesar Arreola, El Paso County Sheriff's Office, TX
• Police Officer Jarod Dean, Boston Heights Police Department, OH
• Deputy Sheriff Dominique Smith, Torrance County Sheriff's Office, NM
• Police Officer Joshuah Patrick Broadway, Montgomery Police Department, AL
• Chief of Police Larry Blagg, Trumann Police Department, AR
• Sergeant Curtis Massey, Culver City Police Department, CA
• Captain Richard J. (Rick) Cashin, Massachusetts State Police, MA
• Chief of Police Johnny Hamilton, New Ellenton Police Department, SC
• Detective Chris Jones, Middletown Township Police Department, PA
• Sergeant Greg Hernandez, Tulare County Sheriff's Office, CA
• Police Officer John PawlowskiPhiladelphia Police Department, PA
• Police Officer James Frederick (Freddie) Norman, Cobb County Police Department, GA
• Lieutenant David Charles Gann, Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office, TN
• Police Officer Richard Matthews, Wilmington Police Department, NC
• Captain Scott Bierwiler, Hernando County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Police Officer Glen CianoSuffolk County Police Department, NY
• Corrections Officer Adam SandersonFlorida Department of Corrections, FL
• Special Agent Paul M. Sorce, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Jailer Thomas Carroll, Goodhue County Sheriff's Department, MN
• Lieutenant Stuart J. Alexander, Corpus Christi Police Department, TX
• Deputy Sheriff Chad Mechels, Turner County Sheriff's Department, SD
• Parole Officer Jeffrey Woolson, New York State Division of Parole
• Corrections Officer Mark Parker, Orange County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Oakland Police Department, CA
• Sergeant Ervin Romans, Oakland Police Department, CA
• Sergeant Daniel Sakai, Oakland Police Department, CA
• Police Officer John Hege, Oakland Police Department, CA
• Trooper Mike Haynes, Montana Highway Patrol, MT
• Sergeant Randy White, Bridgeport Police Department, TX
• Police Officer Eric Kelly, Pittsburgh Police Department, PA
• Police Officer Stephen Mayhle, Pittsburgh Police Department, PA
• Police Officer Paul Sciullo II, Pittsburgh Police Department, PA
• Deputy Sheriff Richard James (Ricky) Stiles Jr., East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Department, LA
• Detective Allen Pearson, Lenoir County Sheriff's Department, NC
• Police Officer Terry Adams, Tifton Police Department, GA
• Police Officer Dexter Hammond, Headland Police Department, AL
• Deputy Sheriff Burton (Burt) Lopez, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Deputy Sheriff Warren (Skip) York, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, FL
• Deputy Sheriff Brandon Scott Coker, Vance County Sheriff's Office, NC
• Deputy Sheriff D. Robert Harvey, Lubbock County Sheriff's Department, TX
• Patrol Detective Justin Mullis, French Lick Police Department, IN
• Juvenile Corrections Officer William Hesson, Ohio Department of Youth Services
• Agent Intern Nathaniel A. Afolayan, United States Border Patrol
• Police Officer James Manor, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, NV

(Source: Officer Down Memorial Page)