SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico— In honor of National Police Week, United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow recognizes the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, law enforcement. This year, the week is observed Wednesday, May 11 through Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
“This week, we gather to pay tribute to the law enforcement officers who sacrificed their lives in service to our country,” said Attorney General Garland. “We remember the courage with which they worked and lived. And we recommit ourselves to the mission to which they dedicated their lives. On behalf of a grateful Justice Department and a grateful nation, I extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the entire law enforcement community.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to pay my respects to so many fallen heroes and colleagues”, said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We understand the risks of law enforcement work, but we must also understand the challenges. We must join our law enforcement community in standing up against crimes large and small. We must help each other in times of need. And above all, we must protect those who have made service to others their life’s work. It is our most important priority to keep law enforcement officers safe.”
In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices. Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Based on data submitted to and analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), 472 law enforcement officers died nationwide in the line of duty in 2021. Of that number, 319 succumbed to COVID-19. Ten (10) officers have died in the line of duty in the District of Puerto Rico:
Eliezer Hernández-Cartagena, Carolina Municipal Police, 1/11/2021
Luis Xavier Salamán-Conde, Carolina Municipal Police 1/11/2021
Luis Ángel Marrero-Díaz, Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) 1/11/2021
Ervin Castro-Domínguez, Carolina Municipal Police, 9/11/2020
José Ferrer-Pabón, PRPB, 12/24/2021
Erasmo García-Torres, PRPB, 6/10/2021
Juan Francisco Rosado-López, PRPB, 2/3/2021
Juan Rafael Rivera-Padua, PRPB, 1/23/2021
Juan Ramón Ramírez-Padilla, PRPB, 11/13/2020
Roberto Rodríguez-Hernández, PRPB,11/4/2020
https://nleomf.org/memorial/facts-figures/roll-call-of-heroes/
Additionally, according to 2021 statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, 73 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2021 were killed as a result of felonious acts, whereas 56 died in accidents. Deaths resulting from felonious acts increased in 2021, rising more than 58 percent from the previous year. In 2021, unprovoked attacks[1] were the cause of 24 deaths significantly outpacing all other line of duty deaths resulting from felony acts and reaching the highest annual total in over 30 years of reporting. Additional LEOKA statistics can be found on FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website for the LEOKA program.
The names of the 619 fallen officers added this year to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial will be read on Friday, May 13, 2022, during a Candlelight Vigil in Washington, D.C., starting at 8:00 PM EDT. Those who wish to view the vigil live online, can watch on the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/TheNLEOMF. The schedule of National Police Week events is available on NLEOMF’s website.
###
Reference to any specific organization or service(s) offered by an organization is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Department of Justice.