National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
Encyclopedia
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (NLEOM) in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square
, honors the nearly 19,000 U.S. law enforcement
officers who have died in the line of duty throughout history. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund was established by former U.S. Representative Mario Biaggi
(D-NY), a 23-year New York City police veteran who was wounded in the line of duty over 10 times before retiring in 1965.
(D-RI) to establish the national monument to honor all of America's fallen law enforcement heroes.
The legislation to authorize the Memorial was enacted in October 1984. Fifteen national law enforcement organizations were responsible for the passage of the legislation, along with designing the Memorial, finding the site to build the Memorial, and raising the funds to build the Memorial. These police groups comprise the board of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and continue to oversee operations of the Memorial: Concerns of Police Survivors; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; Fraternal Order of Police
; Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary; International Association of Chiefs of Police
; International Brotherhood of Police Officers; International Union of Police Associations/AFL-CIO; National Association of Police Organizations; National Black Police Association
; National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
; National Sheriffs' Association
; National Troopers Coalition; Police Executive Research Forum
; Police Foundation
; and the United Federation of Police. In 2009, a 16th member was added to the NLEOMF board: the Police Unity Tour, an organization of law enforcement officers who ride their bicycles hundreds of miles to the Memorial each May during National Police Week to honor officers killed in the line of duty. There are also four honorary board organizations: the FBI National Academy Associates; the Federal Criminal Investigators Association; the International Association of Women Police; and the International Conference of Police Chaplains.
While the memorial sits on federal land, the monument was constructed and is maintained with private funds, not taxpayer dollars. Public Law 104-329 (October 20, 1996) created a Memorial Maintenance Fund, managed by the United States Secretary of the Interior and funded in part by the sale of 500,000 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Commemorative Silver Dollars issued by the U.S. Mint. The Memorial is adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum
. The Memorial and Museum are both projects of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C.
, the cubs by George Carr.
Below each lion is carved a different quotation:
"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived."
—Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor
"In valor there is hope."
—Tacitus
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
—Proverbs
28:1
"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."
—President George H.W. Bush
Judiciary Square
Judiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and office buildings...
, honors the nearly 19,000 U.S. law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
officers who have died in the line of duty throughout history. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund was established by former U.S. Representative Mario Biaggi
Mario Biaggi
Mario Biaggi is a former U.S. Representative from New York and former New York City police officer. He was elected as a Democrat from The Bronx in New York City...
(D-NY), a 23-year New York City police veteran who was wounded in the line of duty over 10 times before retiring in 1965.
Overview
The mission of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is to generate increased public support for the law enforcement profession by permanently recording and appropriately commemorating the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers; and to provide information that will help promote law enforcement safety.Origins
Donald J. Guilfoil, a detective with the Suffolk County PBA, initiated the federal legislation to establish a National Police Memorial in 1972. Rep. Biaggi then took up the cause and joined forces with U.S. Senator Claiborne PellClaiborne Pell
Claiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
(D-RI) to establish the national monument to honor all of America's fallen law enforcement heroes.
The legislation to authorize the Memorial was enacted in October 1984. Fifteen national law enforcement organizations were responsible for the passage of the legislation, along with designing the Memorial, finding the site to build the Memorial, and raising the funds to build the Memorial. These police groups comprise the board of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and continue to oversee operations of the Memorial: Concerns of Police Survivors; Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association; Fraternal Order of Police
Fraternal Order of Police
The Fraternal Order of Police is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It claims a membership of over 325,000 members organized in 2100 local chapters , organized into local lodges, state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge...
; Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary; International Association of Chiefs of Police
International Association of Chiefs of Police
The International Association of Chiefs of Police was founded in Chicago in 1893 as the National Chiefs of Police Union. The primary goal of this organization was to apprehend and return criminals who had fled the agency jurisdictions in which they were wanted...
; International Brotherhood of Police Officers; International Union of Police Associations/AFL-CIO; National Association of Police Organizations; National Black Police Association
National Black Police Association
The National Black Police Association is a police support organisation, founded in November 1999, which seeks to improve the working environment of Black and Minority Ethnic staff in UK police forces, to enhance racial harmony and the quality of service to all communities of the United...
; National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives is a membership group of primarily black law enforcement CEOs and command level officials in local, state, county, and federal government. Headquartered in Washington, DC, it has 57 chapters in the United States, one in St...
; National Sheriffs' Association
National Sheriffs' Association
The National Sheriffs' Association is a U.S. trade association dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among U.S. sheriffs, their deputies and others in the fields of criminal justice and public safety. Since its founding in 1940, NSA has been the one voice of the nation's sheriffs in...
; National Troopers Coalition; Police Executive Research Forum
Police Executive Research Forum
The Police Executive Research Forum is a national membership organization of police executives from the largest city, county and state law enforcement agencies, primarily in the United States. The organization is dedicated to improving policing and advancing professionalism through research and...
; Police Foundation
Police Foundation
The Police Foundation, of Washington, DC, is a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping the police be more effective in doing their job. It was founded on July 22, 1970 by the Ford Foundation, and has continued to receive its primary support from that foundation, although it now has a large...
; and the United Federation of Police. In 2009, a 16th member was added to the NLEOMF board: the Police Unity Tour, an organization of law enforcement officers who ride their bicycles hundreds of miles to the Memorial each May during National Police Week to honor officers killed in the line of duty. There are also four honorary board organizations: the FBI National Academy Associates; the Federal Criminal Investigators Association; the International Association of Women Police; and the International Conference of Police Chaplains.
Later developments
Seven years after passage of the authorizing legislation, on October 15, 1991, the Memorial was officially dedicated. At the time of dedication, the names of over 12,000 fallen officers were engraved on the Memorial's walls. Currently, there are 19,298 names on the Memorial. Each year, during National Police Week, on May 13, the NLEOMF hosts a Candlelight Vigil, attended by more than 20,000 officers and survivors, to formally dedicate the names added to the Memorial walls that year. In 2011, 316 total names were added to the Walls -– 152 were fallen officers from 2010, and 164 were line-of-duty deaths that occurred earlier in U.S. history but just recently came to light. At the current rate at which names are being added, the Memorial walls are expected to be filled by 2050.Design and location
Designed by architect Davis Buckley, the memorial features a reflecting pool which is surrounded by walkways on a 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) park. Along the walkways are walls that are inscribed with names of all U.S. law enforcement officers — federal, state, and local — who have died in the line of duty. One entrance of the Judiciary Square Metro station is on the Memorial site. The Memorial maintains a Visitors Center & Store, where visitors can browse merchandise and learn more about the history of law enforcement and the fallen officers engraved on the Memorial walls. The Visitors Center & Store is located at 400 7th Street, NW.While the memorial sits on federal land, the monument was constructed and is maintained with private funds, not taxpayer dollars. Public Law 104-329 (October 20, 1996) created a Memorial Maintenance Fund, managed by the United States Secretary of the Interior and funded in part by the sale of 500,000 National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Commemorative Silver Dollars issued by the U.S. Mint. The Memorial is adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum
National Law Enforcement Museum
The National Law Enforcement Museum is a museum located in Washington, D.C., specializing in the law enforcement profession. The museum is adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.-History:...
. The Memorial and Museum are both projects of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Sculpture
The Memorial features four bronze lions--two male and two female—each watching over a pair of lion cubs. The adult lions were sculpted by Raymond KaskeyRaymond Kaskey
Raymond Kaskey is an American sculptor.He was born in Pittsburgh. He studied architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University...
, the cubs by George Carr.
Below each lion is carved a different quotation:
"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived."
—Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor
"In valor there is hope."
—Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
—Proverbs
Proverbs
Proverbs may refer to:*The plural of the word proverb*The Book of Proverbs, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible*Roy Proverbs, English footballer...
28:1
"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."
—President George H.W. Bush
See also
- National Police MemorialNational Police MemorialThe National Police Memorial is a memorial in central London, commemorating about 4000 police officers killed in the course of their duties in the United Kingdom. It was designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Per Arnoldi and unveiled in 2005...
in the United Kingdom - National Police Memorial AustraliaNational Police Memorial AustraliaAustralia's National Police Memorial is in the national capital, Canberra, in King's Park on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin adjacent to the National Carillon on Aspen Island...
- Peace Officers Memorial DayPeace Officers Memorial DayPeace 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 Officer Down Memorial PageThe Officer Down Memorial PageThe Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. is a non-profit organization that maintains a website listing American, Canadian, central European, Australian, and New Zealander law enforcement officers and prison officers who have died in the line of duty....