Alexandria, VA. – The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), along with several other organizations and individuals, will hold a candlelight vigil today on the National Mall in Washington D.C. to memorialize the hundreds of officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2019 and 2020.
The October 14 vigil, hosted by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, is part of Police Weekend 2021, which runs from October 13 through October 17. The vigil will be a time to remember the 701 fallen law enforcement offices. Their names have been on engraved on the Memorial in the nation’s capital, bringing the total of officers killed in the line of duty to 22,611.
In attendance of the vigil will be family members, high-ranking government officials along with local, state, and federal law enforcement officers including NOBLE National President Frederick L. Thomas, who will be among those reading aloud the names of those 701 killed.
“We honor the fallen brothers and sisters in blue who sacrificed their lives in the name of protecting our communities,” Thomas said. “We pay our deepest respects to these heroes who lived justice by action.”
The event, which takes place takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the National Mall between 12th and 14th Streets, NW in Washington, D.C will be live streamed. You can watch from home by visiting Candlelight Vigil – National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Those who attend in person are encouraged to wear masks and socially distance.
NOBLE will also hold in remembrance those who died from the No. 1 killer of law enforcement officers in 2020 and 2021, the victims of COVID-19.
Special activities to honor law enforcement this weekend also include the esteemed Destination Zero Conference and the Destination Zero Awards Ceremony, which are sponsored by various organizations.
Source: Daphne Almodovar