Commissioner Leon’s Resolution Recognizes May 10-16, 2015 as “National Police Week” in El Paso County
On Monday, May 11, 2015, Commissioner Leon presented Chief Tom Whitten and Commander Kevin Lanahan from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office with a resolution designating May 10-16, 2015 as Police Week in El Paso County. During Commissioners Court, Commissioner Leon publicly saluted the service of law enforcement officers in our community and in communities across the nation.
There are more than 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and all other local, state and federal Law Enforcement Agencies in El Paso County. Since the first recorded death in 1791, more than 20,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice and have been killed in the line of duty, including 56 members of Law Enforcement Agencies in El Paso County, including Constable Robert Parker White who died November 1, 2014. The names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. or recognized on the Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial in Austin, Texas.
The names of 117 brave men and women killed in the line of duty during 2014 will be added to these memorials. By joint resolution of Congress and signed by President John F. Kennedy on October 1, 1962, and proclaimed by President Barack Obama, May 15, 2015 is designated as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 10 through May 16, 2015 as Police Week to honor those fallen officers and their families. President Barack Obama directs that on Friday, May 15, 2015, the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day.