This week, cities, police departments and other law enforcement agencies have been honoring the men and women who have lost their lives protecting and serving their communities. These memorials have been a prologue to National Police Week, which runs Sunday through May 20 and honors the officers who have died in the line of duty with a service Monday at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
In the newest episode of OFFICER Magazine's Officer Roll Call podcast, Editorial Director Lt. Frank Borelli (ret.) and Editor Paul Peluso talk about the week and its importance not just for remembering the lives that have been lost but also as support for those officers' surviving families and loved ones.
"It should be all year," Borelli said. "This week out of the year, we honor the fallen and the families who have had to experience that sacrifice. And it's hard to cram everything into just a week and have it really take the effect that it needs to have really give the attention that it needs to give."
Borelli, who described attending the service as "a gut punch" shared a Police Week memory he had of taking his son to the memorial one year.
"I took my son one year so he could experience it and see everything," he said. "And when we were coming home, I asked him, and he's like, it's one thing—he grew up with a father who was a police officer all his life—it's one thing to know that you might not come home. It's a different thing to actually see people whose husband or mother or wife or sister or daughter son didn't go home. That made the ultimate sacrifice. And it's a whole different realization. It's a whole different world."
Although National Police Week officially starts next week, events will be held this week as well. On Thursday, the National Police K-9 Memorial Service at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Friday is the arrival ceremony for the Police Unity Tour.
That leads up to the emotional candlelight vigil Saturday on the National Mall. The livestreamed event features the reading of the names of those who have fallen in the line of duty.
Peluso also discussed how Police Week organizers and National Law Enforcement Memorial officials continue supporting the affected law enforcement families throughout the year.
"Besides the events during Police Week, they do events throughout the year and even have camps for the kids and that to meet other kids that are going through the same thing. … So it's that sense of camaraderie, that sense that they're not alone going through such a tragedy."
"You know, the really sad part, Paul, is everybody who lost a family member in the line of duty last year, they're new to concerns of police survivors this year," Borelli replied. "But of course, they definitely get treated with deference and honor, as they should. And concerns of police survivors goes a long way towards emotionally holding their hand and offering them these. The different courses that you're talking about and the different events going on, really to help them learn how to live their lives without that loved one that we lost in the line of duty."
National Police Week's history goes back to 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. The memorial service began in 1982 and its growth over the decades is bittersweet; while the outpouring of support is inspiring, it's still heartbreaking to see the number of fallen officers grow.
"It's hard to attend this and not be emotionally moved," Borelli said. "I've seen some of the toughest people in the world stand and cry at these things. … To stand and watch just what looks like a sea of burning candles.
"I heard somebody once say it seems kind of tedious," he added. "And I said, 'Yeah, but not if you're the widow or the widower or the son or the daughter or the mother or the father of the fallen officer. And their name is 90% down the list.' You spend all that time listening to the names being read, dreading when they get to your officer's name, but also that's what you're there for. The emotional sea of turbulence is definitely strong there. It's a wonderful thing to see and it's a hard thing to see and experience. But I would encourage anybody who can to go do it, if nothing else, do it at least once. Go, go and light that candle and stand and experience it and feel everything going on around you. You'll never experience anything like it, ever."
Listen to the full Officer Roll Call episode and hear Borelli talk about meeting a woman at the memorial with a heartbreaking T-shirt. Officer Roll Call and other OFFICER Magazine's podcasts are available through the following outlets:
Go to the National Police Week website for a full list of events and other information.
