The fallen heroes must be remembered, as Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), reminded us at the
candlelight vigil
, in this way — "It's not how these officers died that made them heroes. It is how they lived."
National Police Week also reminds us of the close calls of officers whose actions put them on the winning side, such as the NLEOMF's officers of the month, which are honored at a luncheon.
The 2010 officers of the month included 10 males and two females, a federal park ranger, state trooper, corrections deputy, the Seattle officer who ended the manhunt for Lakewood cop killer Maurice Clemmons, and the Arkansas wildlife officer who rammed two sovereign citizens who killed West Memphis PD's Sgt. Brandon Paudert and Officer Bill Evans.
We captured five of these stories on video, as POLICE Editor David Griffith sat down to interview these officers. Click on the photo to view the clip.
First up is Officer Matthew Medeiros of the Boynton Beach (Fla.) Police Department, who was picked as NLEOMF's
January Officer of the Month
for providing crucial aid to a sergeant during a gunfight with a parolee.