Honoring Law Enforcement – David Stringer, Publisher

Prescott eNews is honored to support a special event this Sunday afternoon sponsored by a local civic group, Patriot Pioneers, commemorating Law Enforcement Day in Prescott, Arizona. This family-friendly  event runs from 1 to 4 pm on the Courthouse Plaza and will feature music, vendors, displays of law enforcement equipment, and if rumors hold true, remarks from civic leaders and maybe even a few candidates for public office. The details are set forth on a  banner scrolling on our home page that we donated several weeks ago to help promote the event.

Ever since President Kennedy’s Presidential Decree in 1962 designating  May 15^th Peace Officer Memorial Day, events honoring law enforcement have been held throughout the country. Over the years,  this special day memorializing officers who have fallen in the line of duty has become National Police Week, which this year runs from May 10th thru May 16th.  A monument memorializing their names, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, stands in Washington, DC.

This lovely memorial sits on a four acre plaza atop the Judiciary Square Metro station, adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Museum in NW Washington DC. It features four bronze lions framing a  reflecting pool with winding pathways through granite plaques where the names of the fallen are inscribed.

Since the 19^th century when records were first kept, 23,785 American police officers are believed to have died in the line of duty.

I had the good fortune to be present when President George H.W. Bush dedicated the Memorial on October 15, 1991. My law office near Judiciary Square was just a few blocks away. For many years I kept an apartment in the nearby Penn Quarter area. I used the Judiciary Square Metro on a regular basis and often witnessed the ceremonies honoring fallen police officers. Delegations from law enforcement agencies from all over the country would appear for ceremonies honoring their fallen colleagues. Along with judges, lawyers, and court personnel, police officers are part of the administration of justice. But police officers are the only ones asked to put their lives on the line in the name of public safety.

Not everyone appreciates their sacrifice. In recent years calls have arisen from the Radical Left to defund the police. Woke politicians routinely denounce law enforcement for racism and over-policing.   Democrat run cities have established sanctuary policies protecting illegal immigrants and tolerating shocking levels of civil disorder. There are thousands of violent crimes committed in the United States every year that are barely noticed outside their communities. But when a police officer is forced to resort to violence in the line of duty, the liberal media makes it a national story.  Politically motivated  show trials and even the imprisonment of police officers involved in shootings in self defense have become an occupational hazard.

Undoubtedly there are abuses and excesses in law enforcement as there are in every activity  of government. The United States is the most heavily policed democracy in the world. We have 5% of the world’s population and 20% of the world’s prisoners.  Washington DC where I spent most of my career has more police officers per capita than any other city in the world. And one of the highest crime rates.  But it’s important to remember that police officers don’t make the laws. They are charged with enforcing the laws that we have given them through our elected officials, often in the face of great danger to their personal safety.

No one understands the complicated issues involving law enforcement better than Donald Trump. He is the most prosecuted political figure in our lifetime.  Although appeals are ongoing, President Trump is the first convicted felon to serve as President. Two years into his presidency, he continues to fight a bizarre $83 million civil judgment imposed by a New York jury in a lawsuit there is reason to believe was politically motivated. Clearly, our legal system is not free from abuse and manipulation. But none of this is the fault of the honorable men and women who risk their lives to keep us safe.

By Executive Order signed May 11^th, President Trump has proclaimed May 15^th Peace Officer’s Memorial Day and declared the entire week from May 10th to May 16th, as Police Week. His Proclamation states:

On this Peace Officers Memorial Day, we solemnly commemorate the officers who gave their lives in the line of duty across our Nation.Throughout Police Week, we honor the sacrifices of our law enforcement community and the families who stand beside them.  United in gratitude, we recommit ourselves to supporting those who keep the peace in our neighborhoods, and we offer our heartfelt appreciation for the service they render to community and country.

On Sunday, May 17^th,  from 1 to 4pm, on the Courthouse Plaza in Prescott, Arizona, local citizens will join their compatriots across the country in commemorating Law Enforcement Day. We hope you will join them.