Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week is an observance in the United States that pays tribute to the local, state, and federal peace officers who have died, or who have been disabled, in the line of duty. It is celebrated May 15th of each year. The event is sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and is implemented by the FOP Memorial Committee.

National Police Week

The formal memorial is on May 15, and Police Week is the calendar week in which the memorial falls. Other events of National Police Week include an annual

Blue Mass Blue mass (also known as blue pill or ''pilula hydrargyri'') was the name of a Mercury (element), mercury-based medicine common from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The oldest formula is ascribed to one Hayreddin Barbarossa, Barbarossa, in a lett ...

, Candlelight Vigil, Wreath Laying Ceremony, National Police Survivors Conference, Honor Guard Competition, and the Emerald Society & Pipe Band March and Service. The annual event draws 25,000 to 40,000 law enforcement officers, their families, and other visitors to attend.

Enactment

The holiday was created on October 1, 1961, when Congress authorized the president to designate May 15 to honor peace officers. John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law on October 1, 1962. The proclamation signed by President Kennedy read: ''87th Congress of the United States of America'' ''Joint Resolution ''76 Stat. 676.

Subsequent proclamations

Amended in 1994, Bill Clinton, through Public Law 103-322, directed that the

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be flown at half-staff on May 15. According to a proclamation by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in 2002, At the National Peace Officer's Memorial Service on May 15, 2013, President Barack Obama paid tribute to fallen law enforcement officers, closing: Much of the holiday centers on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., whose walls feature the names of more than 21,183 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

References

External links

Joint Resolution of Congress (76 Stat. 676)
{{US Observances Public holidays in the United States May observances Remembrance days 1961 establishments in the United States Recurring events established in 1961 Police days