The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has announced that its annual Police Week Candlelight Vigil honoring fallen officers has been canceled because of coronavirus restrictions and will be held as a virtual event on Wednesday May 13.
Each year more than 30,000 officers, police family members, and police supporters at-tend the vigil, which is held on the National Mall in Washington, DC. During the event the names of fallen officers who are being added to the National Law Enforcement Of-ficers Memorial are read. This year the fallen officers will be honored online.
“The current crisis that our nation and the world is facing has resulted in the cancelation of pubic gatherings in DC during National Police Week 2020,” said NLEOMF CEO Marcia Ferranto. “We will not let this crisis de-ter us from honoring the fallen. We plan to march forward in solidarity with a virtual Candlelight Vigil and the reading of the names that can be watched from anywhere in the world. Then, as the future becomes more certain and the end of the crisis is near, we will begin to make plans for an in-person reading of names to honor our fallen officers."
The National Fraternal Order of Police also announced Wednesday that its Police Week Memorial had been canceled.
