U.S. Attorney's Office For The Western District Of Louisiana Remembers Fallen Law Enforcement Officers During National Police Week 2014

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE, La. Communities across the United States are coming together during National Police Week - May 11th through May 17th - to honor and remember those law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the family members, friends and fellow officers they left behind.

“Law enforcement officers face the monumental challenge of protecting and serving the public every day,” stated U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley.  “They risk their lives for all of us, and the men and women of the Western District salute and remember them during National Police Week.  We specifically remember those who have fallen while on duty and the legacy of service their sacrifice leaves.”

This year, the names of 286 officers killed in the line of duty are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the 2014 Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13, 2014.  These names include officers who were killed during 2013 and officers who died in previous years who have not been previously added to the Memorial.

The fallen officers of 2013 include four members of the law enforcement community in the Western District of Louisiana.  They are:

• Sergeant Frederick Albert “Rick” Riggenbach of the Chitimacha Tribal Police Department, who died on January 26, 2013;
• Assistant Warden Peggy Sylvester of the Opelousas Police Department, who died on April 14, 2013;
• Special Agent James Terry Watson of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who died June 21, 2013; and
• Deputy Sheriff Steven George Netherland of the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office, who died June 24, 2013.

In order to assist local public safety officers in the work that they do, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, offers safety and survival training throughout the year to increase awareness of the hazards they encounter on a daily basis.  The course curriculum and sessions are overseen by the Western District’s Law Enforcement Community Coordinator, Michael Campbell, a former Chief of Police for the City of Shreveport.  The Western District of Louisiana consists of 42 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, and the courses are open to federal, state, local, military and tribal offices.

“We have and will continue to offer officer safety and survival training to increase awareness of the hazards our public safety officers face on a daily basis,” Finley stated. “Our goal is for all public safety officers to return home to their families at the end of their shifts each and every day.”