Police Week 2016: Fallen L.E. Officers Honored at Memorial Service
The 35th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service was held on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Sunday in honor of law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Thousands gathered to pay tribute to fallen officers -- 123 of whom where killed in the line of duty last year -- as part of Police Week 2016, which runs from May 15-21.
On Friday, the 28th Annual Candlelight Vigil was hosted by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund in Washington, D.C.
The National Peace Officers' Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement.
Decades later, the event has expanded and now attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to the Nation's Capital each year.
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.
