Peace Officer Memorial Day is Thursday, May 15, and the week in which it falls is declared National Police Week. The names of 26,959 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are etched in the wall at the National Peace Officer Memorial in Washington D.C.
President John F. Kennedy signed the creation of Peace Officer Memorial Day into law on October 1, according to Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith. He added that the federal Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878, prohibits the military from being deployed against its own citizens in a law enforcement capacity.Â
“Sworn law enforcement officers are the everyday barrier that prevent evil, chaos, and complete recklessness from internally destroying our country,” Smith said.Â
The sheriff said that the most dangerous of all law enforcement professions are those of rural patrol officers. “Our deputies and troopers patrol our roadways alone, and commonly respond to calls alone, with backup often 15 to 30 minutes away.”Â
Two deputy sheriffs and one state trooper have been shot and killed in the line of duty in Patrick County.Â
“The southeast has always been statistically the most dangerous area of the country for law enforcement, with our southern Appalachian region certainly within that category ” Smith added.Â
The sheriff urges the public to visit the Officer Down Memorial website at www.odmp.org.
 “The stories of all 26,959 are here, it is sobering to learn how they died, and sadly, who they left behind.” Smith said.
