5/10/2005

Police Week 2005 honors 415 fallen officers
By Bob Lassahn
On Friday May 13, 2005, following a candlelight vigil, the names of 415 police officers killed in the line of duty and newly engraved on the Police Memorial in Washington, D.C. will be read. Of this total 154 officers were killed during the year 2004, while the remainder are remembered from bygone years and are finally receiving recognition of their sacrifice.

This year marks the 17th Annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), the event will begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Memorial grounds, located at Judiciary Square, in the 400 block of E Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

In 1962 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”.  Every year since then law enforcement officers converge on Washington, D.C. to participate in events to honor those officers that have made the ultimate sacrifice. Police Week 2005 is designated from Tuesday, May 10 through Sunday, May 15.

Among those being honored this year is Corporal Christopher M. Shea of the Delaware State Police. He is the 33rd police officer from Delaware to die in the line of duty and the 18th from his agency. The earliest recorded line of duty death for the Delaware State Police occurred in 1922.

Corporal Shea was killed July 18, 2004 when his patrol car was struck head-on by a vehicle operated by an intoxicated driver. He was 31 years old. Corporal Shea served with the Delaware State Police for four years and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

The State of Maryland recorded three line-of-duty police deaths in 2004.  To date (May 3) Maryland has recorded a total of 263 fallen officers from the various agencies throughout the state.

Trooper First Class Anthony Jones of the Maryland State Police was killed May 9, 2004 when he was struck by an intoxicated driver. Trooper Jones was the 39th member of the agency to fall in the line of duty since the first recorded fatality in 1921. Trooper Jones was 50 years old and had served with Maryland State Police for six years. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Officer Brian D. Winder of the Baltimore Police Department was gunned down during the evening hours of July 3, 2004 to become the 117th member of the agency to fall in the line of duty since the earliest fatality of record in 1808. Officer Winder was a 10 year veteran of the agency at the time of his death and was 36 years of age. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a stepdaughter.

Officer Duke G. Aaron, III of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) Police Department was struck down by a driver operating under the influence of drugs on July 20, 2004. He is the fourth line of duty fatality for the various agencies of the MTA. Officer Aaron was 29 years old and had served with the agency for 10 years. He is survived by his wife.

Two additional members of the Baltimore Police Department who fell many years in the past are also being recognized. Night Watchman George Workner who was stabbed to death on March 15, 1808 and Detective John Richards who was shot and killed on September 14, 1871.

The 415 names added to the Police memorial this year would bring the total number of officers remembered to 16,666. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page additional officers from the past and a total of 43 killed during 2005 (as of May 3) are already slated for recognition during next year’s vigil. A total of 17,578 American peace officers have died in the line of duty since the first recorded death in 1791 when Constable Darius Quimby, of the Albany County Constable’s Office in New York, was shot while serving a warrant for trespassing.

The 24th Annual National Police Officer’s Memorial Service will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2005 at 12 noon on the west front lawn of the United States Capitol. A wreath laying ceremony follows immediately at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

 The NLEOMF website may be found at www.nleomf.com. Contact NLEOMF by telephone at 202-737-3400.

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Check out the following stories in this week's Courier:

• The box of letters that became a book -- Author Jerry Harlowe highlights the experiences of a World War I soldier through the soldiers diaries and letters home.
• Delegate Norm Conway outlines his position on the Fair Share Health Care Fund Act.
• Once upon a time there was an Ocean City without lifeguards