Friday ceremony to honor law enforcement officers

BONNERS FERRY — The Boundary County Sheriff’s Office and Chaplain Corps will host a local memorial observance to commemorate law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

The ceremony will occur at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5, on the lawn in front of the sheriff’s office in downtown Bonners Ferry. The public is invited to attend.

The ceremony, which was previously postponed due to coronavirus concerns, will feature the local honor guard, a memorial wreath presentation, a traditional last call, and, especially, the reading of the list of names of fallen peace officers. This ceremony will honor 147 officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2019, plus an additional 160 officers who had been killed in prior years.

The local Bonners Ferry ceremony will echo the 32nd annual Candlelight Vigil held in Washington, D.C., on May 15. In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

In the event of significant rainfall, the event will move across the street to the upstairs meeting hall in the City of Bonners Ferry Fire Station 1.

For more information about the local remembrance, or to volunteer to assist with the event, please contact Boundary County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Len Pine at 208-267-3327.