National Police Week

IMPORTANT MESSAGES FOR 2020

From National FOP President Pat Yoes: The FOP and its Auxiliary will be unable to host the 39th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service in Washington, D.C. due to the COVID19 pandemic. This decision was a difficult one, but we believe it is the right one.

› READ MORE

From the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS): Because of the government and health restrictions in place in the D.C. and Virginia area, as well as travel advisories throughout the country, a mutual decision has been made to cancel the public events of NPW 2020.

› READ MORE

From the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum: On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 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.

› READ MORE

HISTORY

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation's Capital each year.

The National Peace Officers Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil, which is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and seminars sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)

National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world. This provides a unique opportunity to meet others who work in law enforcement. In that spirit, the Fraternal Order of Police DC Lodge #1 sponsors receptions each afternoon and evening during Police Week. These events are open to all law enforcement personnel and are an experience unlike any other.