While the official start of National Police Week was still seven days off, hundreds of police officers and their families were already gathering in Livingston, New Jersey, on Sunday, May 8, for what has become the unofficial kickoff event for law enforcement's special week of honor. It is called the Police Unity Tour — a 300-mile bicycle ride to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. More than 600 police officers from all over the country would participate in this nine-year-old event.

The motto for the ride is simple: "We ride for those who died." But a candlelight vigil that evening made it much more personal. A Los Angeles police officer told the crowd about Officer Ricardo Lizarraga, a friend and fallen colleague he would be riding for this year. Officer Lizarraga has been shot and killed on February 20, 2004, during a domestic disturbance call.


A member of the Texas Department of Public Safety told how he learned of the death of his colleague, Kurt Knapp, the previous May when he received a call on his cell phone as he was checking into his hotel for the 2004 Police Unity Tour kickoff.



A Michigan officer spoke of Sterling Heights (MI) police officer Mark Sawyers, who was assassinated last June while he sat in his marked patrol car filling out some paperwork.

In another very poignant moment, the son of Livingston (NJ) Police Lieutenant Michael J. Curley told everyone how much it meant for his father's death to finally be recognized 40 years after he collapsed and died while directing traffic at a truck accident scene. Not only was the local police department honoring the death, but Lieutenant Curley's name was being officially added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

The next morning I joined the bike riders for the first leg of the trip to Ground Zero in New York City, the site where 71 officers perished on September 11, 2001. We stopped for a brief but very emotional ceremony at that hallowed place. Two Port Authority police officers, Bobby Egbert and Tom Kennedy, organized the event, which included a reading of the names of the officers who died on 9/11. The Chief of the Port Authority Police Department, Chris Trucillo, spoke movingly about some of the 37 officers from his department who died that day — many of whom could have saved themselves but chose instead to save others. I told the story of Fred Morrone, the superintendent of the Port Authority Police at the time. He was in his office in Jersey City when the attacks occurred and he rushed to the scene. As head of the agency, he certainly could have stayed on the sidelines overseeing the rescue effort, but he could not stand by and watch innocent lives at risk. He raced up the stairs of one of the burning towers reassuring terrified victims coming down, and when the tower collapsed Fred Morrone's long and distinguished career of helping others in need came to an end.

On May 12, the Police Unity Tour made its way onto the Memorial grounds for a welcoming ceremony that included more than 1,000 people in attendance, including U.S. Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ). The group from northern New Jersey had been joined along the way by another from southern Jersey, and one that started in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I thanked the riders and their support team for all they do to raise awareness and money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. During my remarks I acknowledged some of the riders I had come to know personally over the years, including Carol Sakofsky, whose son, James, was a U.S. Army Military Police Officer killed during a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in 2001. Carol has ridden in the Police Unity Tour every year since. She says the ride helps her cope with her loss and gives her a positive focus during a very difficult time of the year. But, I told her that having her participate in the ride helps and inspires many others.

At the end of the ceremony the organizers of the Police Unity Tour, including their founder and president, Pat Montuore, and executive director, Harry Phillips, presented the Memorial Fund with a check for $750,000, bringing their total contributions over the past nine years to more than $2.2 million.

Later that evening leaders of the Police Unity Tour joined many other top supporters of the Memorial Fund for a dinner celebrating the campaign to build a National Law Enforcement Museum. The keynote speaker was longtime ABC News personality Sam Donaldson, who has personal ties to the National Memorial and has become an important advocate for the Museum effort. Sam's uncle, Joseph Donaldson, was a deputy sheriff in Pinal County, Arizona, who was shot and killed attempting to make an arrest on May 14, 1918.

On the day of our annual Candlelight Vigil, the Memorial Fund hosted a luncheon for our 2004 "Officers of the Month" award winners. They were an exceptional group of men and women. One of them, Spokane County (WA) Sheriff Mark Sterk, helped capture a serial killer, who had murdered 18 women.



Another, Deputy Susan Bader of the Kewaunee (WI) Sheriff's Office, rescued an elderly couple when their car became immersed in raging flood waters.



Our November 2004 Officer of the Month, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Gabriel Keithley, was shot multiple times while conducting a narcotics investigation. His partner, Nicholas Sloan, was killed in the incident. Officer Keithley was lucky to be alive, but his rehabilitation process has been long and difficult, not only for Gabe, but for his family. After the luncheon, his father came up to me with tears in his eyes and expressed a heartfelt "Thank you." Emotions choked back any further words between us, but no more words were necessary. It was the kind of moment that motivates all of us at the Memorial Fund for the coming year.

A few hours before the start of the Candlelight Vigil, a special guest paid a visit to the Memorial grounds. Shaquille O'Neal was in town for the NBA playoffs with his Miami Heat team. It was an off day and when he found out about the event planned that evening at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, Shaquille rearranged his schedule so he could pay his respects to the officers and survivors in attendance. He had more than just a passing interest. Shaquille is a Deputy Sheriff/Special Deputy U.S. Marshal with the Bedford County (VA) Sheriff's Office, serving on Operation Blue Ridge Thunder as an investigator with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. He was escorted on his visit by Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown, a 40-year law enforcement veteran who retired from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms before assuming his current position.

Deputy O'Neal arrived around 5:15 p.m. and spent about an hour walking the full length of each of the "pathways of remembrance," stopping to reflect on some of the names and their stories. He recognized a photo that had been left on the Memorial of Tommy Scott, a Los Angeles World Airports police officer who had been killed less than a month before. He seemed particularly moved by one of the inscriptions on the Memorial, "In valor there is hope." He could not have been more gracious to the many officers and survivors who lined the Memorial walls, stopping for photographs and autographs whenever asked.

After his visit, he issued the following statement, "I think it's important that we all remember how dedicated and committed our law enforcement officers are. I am humbled to be here, to honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty, and to honor the families who have lost their loved ones. This is a beautiful and peaceful place for all to come, reflect and give thanks to all law enforcement; a special breed of professionals who convey the strength, courage and valor of our nation."

Later that evening as dusk settled around the Memorial, more than 20,000 people gathered for the annual Candlelight Vigil, a ceremony honoring all of our nation's fallen officers, as well as the more than 800,000 men and women who now carry on their proud tradition of law enforcement service. Officers from all over the country and from many foreign nations like the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada were there. Thousands of survivors of the fallen also attended. Many arrived in buses from the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) host hotels. As the survivors stepped off the buses they were greeted by police honor guards and the women were presented with red roses as a symbol of everlasting respect and remembrance.

The Attorney General of the United States, Alberto Gonzales, delivered a particularly eloquent keynote address. It was meaningful on many levels. Not only is he the nation's top law enforcement official, but his brother, Tony, is a 26-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, who serves on the department's elite SWAT unit. As he concluded his remarks, he challenged all of us left behind to carry on the work of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, saying, " . . . These names surrounding us are another reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end. We must never stop laboring in the work these officers started. As we hold vigil to their memory - we're taking over their watch, standing guard where they once did, and accepting the mantle of a proud tradition of selfless service. Their unique sense of commitment and devotion to duty is now ours. In their honor, we must continue to shape a future worthy of their great and noble sacrifice. For the sake of their memory, we can. For the sake of the loved ones they left behind, we will. For the sake of future generations, we must."

After the Attorney General's speech, the Memorial Fund's "Distinguished Service Award" was presented to Motorola for more than 65 years of outstanding corporate commitment to the law enforcement profession. Their communications innovations have not only made our officers more effective, but also much safer. Accepting the award was Motorola's Senior Vice President, Jim Sarallo, who was behind the decision last year by Motorola to become the first Corporate Founding Partner of the National Law Enforcement Museum campaign with a pledge of $3 million. Motorola was also instrumental in helping to build the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Birmingham (AL) Police Chief Annetta Nunn sang a beautiful musical tribute during the ceremony to the fallen officers and their families. The song was in honor of all of the fallen, but clearly she had three officers particularly in mind. On June 17 of last year, Chief Nunn lost three of her officers — C. Robert Bennett, Harley Chisholm, and Carlos Owen — in a shooting incident.

Shirley Gibson, the national president of COPS, spoke on behalf of the survivors. It was a memorable speech from a memorable woman. Shirley's son, Brian, was a Washington, D.C. Metropolitan police officer who was brutally assassinated in 1997 while sitting in his patrol car at a traffic light. Overcoming the grief that enveloped her after Brian's death, Shirley has channeled her energies in a very positive way ever since, working hard to help other survivors and becoming the first parent to serve as national president of COPS.

The evening concluded with the lighting of thousands of candles of remembrance, a laser light show providing a symbolic tribute to the "thin blue line" of protection our officers provide, and an unforgettable rendition of "Into the Fire" by retired New York City Detective Danny Rodriguez. The song is about a group of courageous individuals who rise up to take a stand, who are not afraid of darkness or danger, who are willing to walk into the fire if that is what it takes to win the battle for righteousness. It was not written about police officers, but it should have been.

Longtime bagpipe soloist Steve Butterbrodt of the Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey played the haunting tune, "Going Home," and then the Roll Call of Fallen Heroes commenced. There were 415 new names added to the Memorial this year-153 who died last year and 262 who died earlier in history but were only recently discovered by Memorial researchers. All of those names were read as part of a special tribute that has been given to each of the more than 17,000 names added to the Memorial walls.

Sunday, May 15 was "Peace Officers Memorial Day." The flags at the U.S. Capitol and around the nation were at half-staff in honor of the men and women who have lost their lives in law enforcement service. The National Peace Officers Memorial Day service was hosted, as it has been since 1982, by the Fraternal Order of Police and their Auxiliary. As has become tradition, President George W. Bush delivered the keynote address.

As I sat listening to the President, reflecting on the many events of the last few days, and looking out on the massive crowd that had assembled that day on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, I could not help but think how far our nation has come in the last couple of decades in honoring our law enforcement officers and their families. America, I believe, has always valued the extraordinary service and sacrifice of our peace officers, but finally we are showing it in the proper way.