PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY
Every May 15 by proclamation of the President is Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Peace Officers Memorial Day is a part of Police Week, paying tribute to local, State and Federal law enforcement officers.
Flags are flown at half-staff in memory of those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Services honoring the fallen will be conducted across the country, including Washington, D.C.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. features the names of more than 19,000 law enforcement officers which have been killed in the line of duty.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Use #PeaceOfficersMemorialDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
Peace Officers Memorial Day was created on October 1, 1961. At that time, Congress asked the president to designate May 15 as a day to honor peace officers. On October 1, 1962, John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law. In 1994, Bill Clinton made an amendment through Public Law 103-322 that directed the United States flag be flown at half-staff on May 15.
In 1982, an annual Memorial Service gathering in Senate Park began and later became known as Police Week.