The
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in
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, founded on July 16, 1790...
at
Judiciary SquareJudiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and a number of important federal and municipal office buildings...
, honors the more than 18,200 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
The concept for the building of this memorial originated with Det. Donald J. Guilfoil a member of the
Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County, NY (now retired) In October 1972 Det. Guilfoil was
a member of the board of governors of the Suffolk County PBA.
The
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in
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, founded on July 16, 1790...
at
Judiciary SquareJudiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and a number of important federal and municipal office buildings...
, honors the more than 18,200 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
The concept for the building of this memorial originated with Det. Donald J. Guilfoil a member of the
Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County, NY (now retired) In October 1972 Det. Guilfoil was
a member of the board of governors of the Suffolk County PBA. He presented his idea to the PBA that a memorial
should be built in Washington D.C. to honor all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Det Guilfoil`s idea was next presented to James Grover a Babylon, NY congressman. On October 17, 1972
Mr. Grover introduced legislation that called for the construction of the memorial. It took 19 years
but the memorial became a reality through the efforts of a great many people. Craig W. Floyd, Chairman
of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund has called Det. Guilfoil an "Unsung Hero" for his efforts
in starting us all down the road that led to the building of this memorial.
The memorial was established by an
act of CongressAn act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States and the Philippines....
in 1984, and dedicated on October 15, 1991. Designed by architect Davis Buckley, the memorial features a reflecting pool which is surrounded by walkways on a 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. A visitors center and store is nearby at 400
7th StreetThere are four north-south arteries in Washington, D.C. named Seventh Street that are differentiated by the quadrants of the city in which they are located. Historically, 7th Street has been a main north-south road in Washington, being the main route for travelers and farmers coming into the city...
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 by the sale of commemorative coins and donations.
In 1962, President
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
designated May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. On May 13 of each year, during National Police Week, an estimated 20,000 people attend a candlelight vigil at the memorial. It is during this ceremony that the names of all fallen law enforcement officers from the previous year are formally dedicated on the memorial. In 2008, at the 20th annual candlelight vigil, the names of 358 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty were dedicated, including 181 who died in 2007 and 177 who died in previous years but had been lost to history. At the current rate at which names are being added, the current memorial walls are expected to be filled by 2050.
In 2000, Congress approved legislation authorizing the construction of a National Law Enforcement Museum (PL 106-492) to commemorate the service of America's law enforcement officers. The bill, signed into law by President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
on November 9, 2000, authorized the planning for the museum and the adjacent research library. The museum will be a mostly underground facility and will be located in the 400 block of E Street NW, directly across from the memorial. As with the memorial, the architect for the museum is Davis Buckley Architects and Planner. When it opens in 2011, the museum will provide an estimated 600,000 visitors a year with a comprehensive and compelling look at law enforcement in the United States.
Plans for the museum's exhibitions include four permanent galleries and one changing exhibitions gallery designed by Christopher Chadbourne & Associates of Boston. Privately funded, the National Law Enforcement Museum has launched an $80 million capital campaign.
The memorial and museum are both projects of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. The Memorial Fund collects and analyzes information about officer fatalities and publishes mid-year and end-of-year reports on officer fatalities. As officer fatalities on roadways have increased in recent years, the NLEOMF launched the "Drive Safely" campaign to decrease law enforcement fatalities on the road. The NLEOMF website lists statistics related to traffic-related deaths and links to officer testimonials.
In 2009, a national police officers museum has been proposed.
See also
- Police Museum
The Police Museum is housed in former Wan Chai Gap Police Station, which is located at 27 Coombe Road, The Peak, Hong Kong. It has a total floor area of 570 m². Over 600 exhibits are displayed in the Museum.-History:...
- National Police Memorial
The 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 Australia
Australia'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 Day
Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week is an observance in the United States that pays tribute to the local, state, and 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 Page
The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. is a non-profit organization that maintains a website listing United States law enforcement officers and corrections officers that died in the line of duty.- History :...
External links