Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week is an observance in the United States that pays tribute to the local, state, and federal

peace officers A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...

who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty. It is celebrated May 15 of each year. The event is sponsored by the National

Fraternal Order of Police The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodge ...

(FOP) and is implemented by the FOP Memorial Committee.

National Police Week

The formal memorial is on May 15, and Police Week is the calendar week in which the memorial falls. Other events of National Police Week include an annual

Blue Mass Blue mass (also known as blue pill or ''pilula hydrargyri'') was the name of a mercury-based medical treatment for syphilis common from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The oldest formula is ascribed to one Barbarossa, in a letter to Francis I of ...

, Candlelight Vigil, Wreath Laying Ceremony, National Police Survivors Conference, Honor Guard Competition, and the Emerald Society & Pipe Band March and Service. The annual event draws 25,000 to 40,000 law enforcement officers, their families, and other visitors to attend.

Enactment

The holiday was created on October 1, 1961, when

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

authorized the president to designate May 15 to honor peace officers.

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

signed the bill into law on October 1, 1962. The proclamation signed by President Kennedy read: ''87th Congress of the United States of America'' ''Joint Resolution ''76 Stat. 676.

Subsequent proclamations

Amended in 1994,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, through Public Law 103-322, directed that the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

be flown at half-staff on May 15. According to a proclamation by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2002, At the National Peace Officer's Memorial Service on May 15, 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

paid tribute to fallen law enforcement officers, closing: Much of the holiday centers on the

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum. It honors 23,785 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout American hi ...

wall in Washington, D.C., whose walls feature the names of more than 21,183

law enforcement officers A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, a ...

who have been killed in the line of duty.

References

External links

Joint Resolution of Congress (76 Stat. 676)
{{US Observances Public holidays in the United States May observances Remembrance days 1961 establishments in the United States Recurring events established in 1961 Police days