During Police Week, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf paid his respects to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty last year by participating in the national candlelight vigil [Link no longer valid, https://nleomf.org/programs-events/national-police-week/candlelight-vigil], leading a virtual Police Week 5k with leaders from across the Department, laying a wreath at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, and dedicating a new DHS Wall of Remembrance at DHS headquarters. Though Police Week was conducted virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, DHS has still made honoring our brothers and sisters in law enforcement a priority.
“The National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall now includes more 22,000 names—each a brave, selfless law enforcement officer who answered the call to protect their communities,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “Some of these names include individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice during the attacks on September 11, 2001, the very attacks which led to the creation of the Department I am honored to lead today. These names not only stand as a memorial for us to grieve and remember, but also a monument to the values we hold dear as country—including respect, integrity, and selfless service. This year, three more names from DHS unfortunately joined that wall, Robert Hotten, Donna Doss, and Michele T. Paul, each of them heroes.”
DHS is the largest employer of federal law enforcement agents. Approximately one-third of our 240,000 employees serve as law enforcement officers, and nearly 70 percent perform law enforcement functions. The Department’s law enforcement family includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, Federal Protective Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard, and Transportation Security Administration. DHS also plays an important role in training law enforcement across the country through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), which provides vital training to more than 90 federal partner organizations, as well as many state and local officers. Since its inception in 1970, FLETC has trained more than one million law enforcement professionals nationwide.
The Department sends its best wishes to all of the brave men and women across our country who serve as law enforcement officers at the federal, state, and local level, and to their families. We will always remember those who we lost in the line of duty this year, and every year.
