The Calvert Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) at their meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, proclaimed the day as Peace Officers Memorial Day, in honor of officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.
The proclamation recognized the men and women of the Maryland State Police, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland Natural Resources Police and Office of the State Fire Marshal-Southern Region. It went on to read “those courageous individuals chose to wear the uniform and selflessly risk their lives in the performance of their duties, serving their communities knowing full well the dangers and challenges that encompass their day, as they protect and serve the public with pride and dignity”.
Peace Officers are the front line in preserving our right to live in a crime-free environment that is all too often threatened by violence in a
community. Many men and women serve the citizens of Calvert as guardians of the peace and the well-being of these citizens is preserved and enhanced by the vigilance and commitment of these Peace Officers.
The Calvert Board of County Commissioners asked that the citizens of Calvert join the rest of the nation in honoring all Peace Officers and to pause and pay solemn tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, their families who supported them, and their fellow officers for their devotion.
In 2014, 133 officers gave their lives for the communities they bravely served. Forty-Seven (47) officers died by gunfire, 30 died in automobile/motorcycle collisions, 19 died from on-duty heart attacks, 10 died in vehicular assaults, 7 died from illnesses induced by responding to the World Trade Center on 9/11, 5 died in vehicle pursuits, 5 died after being struck by a motorist, 3 died by other duty related illnesses, 2 died in felonious assaults, 2 died by drowning, 2 died in training accidents and one officer died in a fire.
Margit Miller / Calvert Beacon