Police Week
FBI honors fallen colleagues and partners
The spoken names of fallen law enforcement officers are resounding in public squares, federal buildings, and squad rooms this week in solemn observations of National Police Week, which recognizes the men and women who swore an oath to protect and serve and made the ultimate sacrifice.
"Police Week gives us an important opportunity to recognize and thank those heroes who walk among us—the men and women of courage and character who think of others before themselves, no matter the cost," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a May 13 video message (see below).
The annual observance dates back to 1962 when 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.
Director Wray and FBI Police during the FBI Wall of Honor memorial ceremony at FBI Headquarters on May 16, 2024 in Washington, D.C.
Director Wray speaks at a candlelight vigil on the National Mall May 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C. during National Police Week.
Roses adorn a marker at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Police Week regularly draws 25,000 to 40,000 visitors to the nation's capital, with attendees arriving from across the country and around the world.
A police officer and his working dog during a police K9 memorial service on May 11, 2024, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
Last year alone, 60 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed on the job, according to a report released today by the FBI. The Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty, 2023 Special Report, which is compiled by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, also shows that from 2021 to 2023, more officers were feloniously killed (194) than in any other consecutive three-year period in the past 20 years.
Already this year, as of April 29, 19 law enforcement officers have been feloniously killed, and another 21 have died in accidents on the job, according to the most recent data in the Bureau’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Data Collection.
The FBI this week will add eight names to its own Wall of Honor, a memorial to employees who died in the line of duty. The personnel include special agents, technicians, an administrative specialist, and a secretary. All but one of the FBI’s honorees died in recent years as a result of illnesses they developed after responding to the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The names of the FBI personnel below will be added to the FBI Wall of Honor on May 16 during a memorial service:
"Police Week gives us an important opportunity to recognize and thank those heroes who walk among us."
FBI Director Christopher Wray
"To our FBI Family, to our federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners, and to our law enforcement partners around the world," Director Wray said, "please know you have my gratitude for all you have done—and all you continue to do—to protect our communities."
At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., the names of 282 officers killed in the line of duty were added this year to two curving, 304-foot-long limestone walls containing the names of more than 24,000 fallen law enforcement personnel. The memorial, which rests on three acres of federal park land, was dedicated in 1991 and contains names dating back to the first known death in 1786.
Among the new names etched into the stone memorial is that of retired FBI Special Agent John "Jack" Hess, who died last August of cancer he developed from toxic debris he encountered at the Pentagon on 9/11. Five years ago, Hess was among a cadre of vocal advocates pressing special agents and other 9/11 first responders to get check-ups and register for health benefits through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
John "Jack" Hess' name was added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
"Don't be afraid to go out and get screened and find that something's wrong with you, whether it's related to 9/11 or not," Hess said in 2019. "You can still get sick from this. If you had exposure back at 9/11 or the days after, then please register for the World Trade Center benefit screening program." Hess is among those being added this year to the FBI’s Wall of Honor.
FBI Police salute fallen colleague, Lieutenant Yiu Tak "Lou" Tao, whose name was added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Tao died in 2022 from health complications associated with exposure to toxic air during 9/11 recovery efforts. His name was added last year to the FBI Wall of Honor.
Director Christopher Wray and the FBI Police lay a wreath at FBI Headquarters for National Police Week.
A pipe band marched down 10th Street NW in Washington, D.C. near FBI Headquarters during National Police Week.
Observation at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The memorial sits on three acres of federal park land called Judiciary Square and contains nearly 60,000 plants and 128 trees The memorial’s central plaza features an intricate paving pattern and a bronze medallion with the Memorial Fund logo: a blue shield with a red rose draped across it.
At the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the Training Division today is hosting C.O.P.S. Kids Day. The event focuses on children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. The daylong event, organized by the FBI’s National Academy in a longstanding partnership with the non-profit Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), is designed to provide the children of fallen officers an opportunity to meet other kids and talk to trained counselors and professionals in an environment where they feel safe to speak freely about grief and loss. They also meet police officers from around the world—National Academy students—and get an up-close, one-of-a-kind look at where the FBI trains its agents and intelligence analysts.
Police Week regularly draws 25,000 to 40,000 visitors to the nation's capital, with attendees arriving from across the country and around the world. Featured events include a 5k fundraising run, a K9 memorial service, and a Police Unity Tour bike ride-in, which features hundreds of cyclists from around the country. A centerpiece of the annual event is a candlelight vigil on the National Mall, where thousands gather to remember their fallen colleagues, family members, and friends.
"We owe our law enforcement officers across the country a debt of gratitude we can never repay," Wray said in his video remarks. "But what we can do this Police Week is celebrate their courage, thank them for their service, and honor those we have lost far too soon."
