The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
State, nation to honor fallen officers
For more than three decades, Cleveland and all of Northeast Ohio have been recognizing their fallen heroes, thanks to the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society and the Cleveland Police Foundation and Police Week.
It all started in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy declared May 15 National Police Memorial Day and named the week in which it falls Police Week, according to a news release from the above-mentioned organizations.
During this somber celebration of lives lost in the line of duty, all law enforcement officers are recognized for their service and dedication, and due recognition is given to those who died serving their communities throughout Northeast Ohio and beyond.
“The commemoration is one of the largest in North America, drawing hundreds of attendees from throughout the United States, Canada and beyond and contributes between $1.75 million and $2.25 million annually to the local economy,” the pair of organizations report.
But beyond, and more importantly, than the economic boost the week brings to the North Coast, it’s a critical component of what it means to belong to the law-enforcement family. It not only gives its constituents a chance to get together and share their camaraderie. It causes us all to remember that the thin blue line that endeavors to uphold justice and safety in this ever-changing world is just as human as the rest of us and risks its life, day in and day out.
Just ask Chief Lake County Deputy Sheriff Frank Leonbruno, who just made a post on the agency’s Facebook page May 11 about the observance.
“Today there are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States,” Leonbruno’s post reads. “Since the first recorded death in 1791, more than 20,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty.”
In a May 12 phone interview, he affirmed the importance of the upcoming week.
“It is very important,” he said, citing the numbers. “When you hear about an officer dying in the line of duty, it’s a somber thing.”
He added that, while most folks are familiar with the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., not as many have been acquainted with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial there.
“What’s so remarkable about the Vietnam Wall is all the names. It’s overwhelming to see all those names and to realize these are all individuals,” he said. Leonbruno added that although the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial only has got, to date, about a third of the names as the Vietnam Wall, it’s a poignant sight, nonetheless.
“There’s a large reflecting pool and, around that, there are curved walls inscribed with the names of those 20,000 officers,” he said. “And it really is something to see — all those names.”
He said a May 13 candlelight vigil will be streamed on the organization’s website.
As far as Northeast Ohio’s Police Week activities and events go, there are plenty on tap, including a candlelight vigil at Cleveland’s own Police Memorial, a Cleveland Police Badge Case Ceremony and the ever-popular Cleveland Police Memorial Parade on May 19.
To Euclid Police Officer Greg Drew, who’s attended all but one of the 31 police memorial parades to which Cleveland has played host since 1985, it’s all about paying respect to those who paid the ultimate price to serve their communities.
“It’s basically to honor our fallen heroes,” Drew said May 20, 2016, a couple hours before the parade in downtown Cleveland stepped off. “And that’s what they are — heroes. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us — for the community: business owners, children, the elderly — all the people who can’t protect themselves. It’s the least we can do.”
Last year’s parade drew participants and spectators from all over the U.S. and beyond.