The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department will join law enforcement agencies across the nation in celebrating National Police Week, May 14 through May 20, a press release said.
May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the week containing May 15 has been National Police Week, since President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 on October 1, 1962. It was not until May 15, 1982, that the first National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day service was held.
Activities during National Police Week now include the annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Service on May 15 draws thousands from across the nation.
The Sheriff’s Department has lost eight officers in the line of duty. Seven were killed by gunfire, and one died in an automobile accident, the press release said. [Read more…]