Full Notification

The Local Peace Officer Memorial Service will be held on Monday May 6, 2013 at 1200pm on the steps of the Nash County Courthouse. This Service is hosted by the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #46, the Blue Knights North Carolina XXI, and the Nash County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement agencies from across the state will be participating and as many as 30-50 law enforcement officers on bikes are expected. Among the expected riders are Colonel Michael Gilchrist of the State Highway Patrol. The public is invited to attend. The Local Peace Officer Memorial Service is a local service that continues the honor and tradition of the National Peace Officers Memorial Day that is observed every year.

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. The Memorial takes place on May 15, and Police Week is the calendar week in which the Memorial falls. The holiday was created on October 1, 1961, when Congress asked the President to designate May 15 to honor peace officers. John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law on October 1, 1962. Amended in 1994, Bill Clinton, through Public Law 103-322, directed that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff on May 15.

On average, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 57 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

This years service will be attended by the "Honoring a Hero" bicycle riders. They will make a stop at the memorial ceremony after completing a 60 mile bicycle ride starting at the NC State Highway Patrol Memorial in Raleigh, and ending at the Nash County Courthouse. This bicycle ride is being conducted by members of the NC Highway Patrol in memory of Trooper Bobby Gene Demuth, End of Watch 09-08-2012.

For more information on the Memorial Service, see the attached flyer. http://nc-nashcounty.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/420