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Dunn leads Council in honoring law enforcement during National Police Week
Summary
The King County Council on Tuesday joined communities across the United States in recognition of National Police Week. The annual celebration, celebrated this year from May 14-20, honors and remembers those law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the family members, friends, and fellow officers they left behind.
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The King County Council on Tuesday joined communities across the United States in recognition of National Police Week. The annual celebration, celebrated this year from May 14-20, honors and remembers those law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the family members, friends, and fellow officers they left behind.
“During Police Week, we pay our respects to the men and women of law enforcement who lost their lives while protecting their community,” said King County Vice Chair Reagan Dunn. “Though we can never fully repay the great debt that we owe them—and their families, friends, and fellow officers—today we honor their memory and mourn with their loved ones.”
This year, the names of 556 officers killed in the line of duty were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. These 556 names include 224 officers who died during 2022 and 332 officers who died in previous years, but whose stories of sacrifice had been lost to history until now.
The names of all 556 fallen officers nationwide were formally dedicated during the 35th Annual Candlelight Vigil that was held on the National Mall in Washington, DC, at 8:00 pm EDT on May 13, 2023.
Seven members of the law enforcement community in Washington State were added to the National Memorial, including Thomas J. Wray of the Bellevue Police Department who passed away on January 22, 2002; Jordan Taylor Jackson of the Bellevue Police Department who passed away on November 21, 2022; Daniel Charles Rocha of the Everett Police Department who passed away on March 25, 2022; Daryl Wayne Shuey of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department who passed away on November 10, 2020; Dominique Bernardo Calata of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department who passed away on March 16, 2022; Donald Lewis Sahota of the Vancouver Police Department who passed away on January 29, 2022; and Darryl Lynn Goodrich, Jr. of the Washington State Department of Corrections who passed away on August 20, 2021.
There are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers currently in the U.S. Since the first recorded death in 1791, over 23,000 law enforcement officers—representing cities, counties, states, and federal agencies in the United States—have died in the line of duty. In 1853, King County Deputy Wesley Cherry was the first King County law officer to lose their life in the line of duty. Since Cherry, 17 King County Sheriff’s officers have fallen in the line of duty. The King County Sheriff’s Office Memorial, located in the King County Courthouse, honors their sacrifice. “National Police Week gives law enforcement officers, survivors, and community members a time to reflect and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice – their lives – in the line of duty,” said King County Undersheriff Jesse Anderson. Each year, Washington State adds names of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty to the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial in Olympia. In 2023, six names were added to that memorial: Bellevue Police Officer Jordan T. Jackson who passed away on November 21, 2022; Everett Police Officer Daniel Rocha who passed away on March 25, 2022; Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy Dominique B. Calata who passed away on March 16, 2022; Vancouver Police Officer Donald L. Sahota who passed away on January 29, 2022; King County Sheriff’s Deputy John Frederick Mines who passed away on July 19, 1946; and King County Sheriff’s Deputy George H. Yeaman, Jr. who passed away July 22, 1946.