National Police Week culminated Wednesday with a memorial service at the U.S. Capitol in Washington where President Donald Trump and other dignitaries offered a tribute to law enforcement personnel who have fallen in the line of duty.
Tonight, the White House was lit in blue in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day. pic.twitter.com/Tv9nAn5M2G
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 16, 2019
Thousands of people streamed in for the two-hour service as police officers, including those mounted on horses, lined the entrance route saluting their “brothers’ and sisters’” surviving families. Roads around the Capitol grounds were closed down as police on foot and on motorcycle patrols provided tight security.
During his keynote speech, Trump promised the families of fallen officers that “we will never, ever leave your side.”
Before names of the dead were read, Trump shared stories of a few officers killed in the past year while on duty.
Patrolman James White and Corporal Zach Moak from Brookhaven, Mississippi, were both killed when responding to a report of shots fired at a home.
Seven officers in South Carolina were shot on a “very terrible day,” Trump said when they were ambushed while responding to a report of a man suspected of a crime against a minor. Investigator Farrah Turner was fatally wounded. Florence Police Sgt. Terrence Carraway, who was on his way home when he heard of the incident, was shot and killed when responding.
Trump then told of California Police Officer Ronil Singh who was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a man who had illegally crossed the southern border into the United States. “A vicious killer that could’ve been kept out with … the wall.”
Several members of the Singh family then spoke.
Singh’s brother offered thanks to “every single law enforcement officer” for what they go through. He then said of Trump, “Whatever he is doing for the law enforcement, we support him… This man is amazing, and my family supports him.”
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© 2019 the Stars and Stripes
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