Society has changed, Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood told a crowd gathered to honor fallen law enforcement officers.
It’s a battle between good and evil, “and you are it,” he said. “My prayer is that we never call your name out here.”
The 24th annual Law Enforcement Memorial was held in downtown Alexandria, on the steps of the Rapides Parish Courthouse, Friday morning. It was held as National Police Week ends.
Wood thanked all gathered for their service and, pointing to those sitting to his left who have lost loved ones, said that “they know that feeling that I hope you never feel.”
Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain was the event’s speaker, and he told the crowd how the week came to be an event that’s celebrated across the country.
President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, and the week that day falls in was designated Police Week.
The week is about honor, gratitude, remembrance and servitude, said McCain. He also spoke of sacrifice and how officers keep their communities safe through that.
Five police officers in Louisiana died in the line of duty in 2022.
According to the National Police Week website, 556 names were read in a ceremony on the U.S. Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. More than 200 of those fallen, 224, died in 2022.
McCain said, as of today, there are 23,785 names engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in the nation’s capital. He said it’s a testament to the sacrifices police officers make every day to keep their communities safe.
“Under President Kennedy’s order, it’s meant to honor the men and women who risk their lives every day in the line of duty,” said McCain.
The memorial ended with a reading of a regional Roll Call of Heroes and a wreath presentation.