OAKLAND — New police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick presided Wednesday over her first memorial ceremony for Oakland officers killed in the line of duty, telling those in attendance “the courage and dedication of these officers and all who serve is gratefully appreciated.”

More than 70 relatives and friends of the 53 Oakland officers who have died in the line of duty since 1867 were in the audience of more than 200.

Kirkpatrick said she was “humbled and honored” to stand alongside them and current officers as they remembered what was the “deepest personal loss” one could imagine. She thanked the relatives “for sharing your loved one with us,” and said they would “always be in our hearts, prayers and thoughts.”

Kirkpatrick addressed the audience while standing before the black marble memorial wall in the lobby at police headquarters that bears the names of the fallen officers etched in white.

“We remind ourselves of the dedication and willingness of each and every one of you who serve our community every day,” she said.

Some in the audience wept openly as the names of each of the fallen officers was read out loud and friends and relatives added a rose in their honor to a floral display representing an Oakland police badge.

The most recent name added to the wall is Officer Paul Carlisle, who died on Dec. 1, 2015. He was working as a patrol officer on Nov. 23, 1976, when he was shot by a paroled murderer he had stopped in downtown, and left paralyzed.

Carlisle was 70 when he died at his Oakland home, ending a two-year decline in his health. After an autopsy and thorough study of his medical records, the coroner’s office ruled his death a homicide and directly attributed it to the gunshot wound. That finding made it a line of duty death.

His rose was pinned to the display by his wife, Jan, and their three grown children.