NEW — 3:15 p.m. May 12, 2015
The Metropolitan King County Council and Newcastle Mayor Steve Buri joined municipalities across the country in recognizing National Police Week.
National Police Week, May 10-16, recognizes the men and women of law enforcement who have fallen in the line of duty.
The city of Newcastle understands the weight of those sacrifices more than most, after King County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Richard Herzog lost his life protecting the citizens of Newcastle June 2, 2002.
“It is always an honor to recognize and remember those that have fallen in the line of duty,” King County Councilman Reagan Dunn said in a statement.
“I want to thank Mayor Buri, the City Council and all of the residents of Newcastle for continuing to honor the memory and sacrifice of Deputy Herzog.”
Buri added that National Police Week “offers a sober reminder of the dangers our officers face each and every day.”
“I ask all Newcastle residents to join me in remembering those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to remember the families who still grieve their loss,” Buri said.
Police Week was created in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.
As part of the annual celebration of Police Week, the names of officers lost in the line of duty are added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In 2013 the Metropolitan King County Council unanimously passed legislation to study the creation of a King County Sheriff’s Office memorial. The memorial is now in the planning stages and a design is being chosen for eventual installation in the King County Courthouse.
Learn more about Herzog in this guest editorial penned by then-Newcastle Mayor John Dulcich in 2002: http://www.newcastle-news.com/2014/05/15/our-hero-our-friend.