Justice Department Leadership Honors Service and Sacrifice of Nation’s Law Enforcement for Police Week

Last week, in recognition of National Police Week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer joined law enforcement partners to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation.

According to the FBI’s most recent statistics, 60 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2023. As of April 29, 19 law enforcement officers have lost their lives in the line of duty this year.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America’s law enforcement community. This year, police week ran May 12 – 18.

Attorney General Garland, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Mizer began the week by visiting the National Law Enforcement Memorial and laying a wreath in honor of the men and women who have died in the line of duty.

Throughout the week, to recognize not only Justice Department employees who died in the line of duty but also their surviving family members and friends, Attorney General Garland and Deputy Attorney General Monaco attended memorial services for the Justice Department’s four law enforcement components: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller also delivered remarks at a memorial service to honor fallen federal correctional officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, during National Correctional Officers Week, which ran May 5 – 11.

Attorney General Garland and Deputy Attorney General Monaco also attended the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)’s National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service. Additionally, Attorney General Garland attended the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s annual candlelight vigil honoring the officers who lost their lives over the past year, where the Attorney General joined senior officials to read the names of the fallen.

On Thursday, Attorney General Garland, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Mizer also convened the Justice Department’s law enforcement components and external law enforcement associations with whom they regularly meet to discuss the Justice Department’s continued partnership with state and local law enforcement.