JEFFERSON CITY â Hundreds of law enforcement officers and families from across the state gathered at the state capitol Saturday morning to remember officers killed in the line of duty over the past year.
The ceremony returned to the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial after being held virtually in 2020. Organizers of the memorial echoed that events over the last year have highlighted the profession s importance. Missouri Department of Public Safety The recent spade of mass shootings have shown us that this country needs our heroes in blue more than ever. If not for the men and women whose names adorn these walls, society would fall in the face of fear and peril, Missouri Fraternal Order of Police president Rick Inglima said.
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Gone but not forgotten: Ceremonies honor Missouri officers who made the ultimate sacrifice
There are now 716 names that can be found along the walls of Missouri’s Law Enforcement Memorial outside the state Capitol in Jefferson City. Those names are sitting on the Wall of Honor to pay tribute to officers who gave their lives to protect and serve others.
Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial (Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Public Safety’s Flickr page)
Eight names of officers who died in the line of duty in 2020 and seven others killed between 1907 and 1946 were added to the wall as part of annual ceremonies to remember Missouri’s fallen men and women in blue.
Six Missouri law-enforcement officers and two corrections officers who died in the line of duty in between in 2020 were honored on Saturday, May 1, during Missouri’s annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service for those who have paid the ultimate price for their service protecting their fellow Missourians.
Officers, their families and friends from across the state gathered as the service returned to the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial on the grounds to the state Capitol, after being held virtually last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the officers who died in 2020, the names of seven law-enforcement officers whose historical line-of-duty deaths recently confirmed also were added to the memorial’s “Wall of Honor.”
By Brian Mudd
Protecting the Palm Beaches – a tribute to those who serve and sacrifice
Bottom Line: This weekly feature is designed to recognize those who ve paid the ultimate price to serve their communities and to serve as a reminder of what our police risk to keep us safe.
132 line of duty deaths in 2019
278 LOD’s in 2020, including 16 in Florida
It’s as sad as it is instructive that we’ve already lost more than twice as many law enforcement professionals in the line of duty this year, than in total, last year. We created this series several years ago to create awareness about the risk and regular sacrifices made by law enforcement. I felt this was necessary because anti-police rhetoric and activism which led to an increase in violence against law enforcement. That’s culminated with murder having become the most common form of death and biggest risk our police face day in and day out. We’re in an especially dangerous moment due to the defund police movement a