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Press Release

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana remembers fallen law enforcement officers during national Police Week 2015

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana
Law enforcement training, body camera grants available

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKECHARLES/MONROE, La. – Communities across the United States are coming together during National Police Week - May 10th through May 15th - 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.

“National Police Week is a time of remembrance of fallen officers who gave their lives to protect ours,” stated U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley.  “Law enforcement officers risk their lives for all of us, and the men and women of the Western District salute and remember them.  In our communities, their contributions are felt and deeply appreciated.”

This year, the names of 273 officers killed in the line of duty are being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the 27th Annual 2015 Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13.  These names include officers who were killed during 2014 and officers who died in previous years who have not been previously added to the Memorial.

The fallen officers of 2014 include two members of the law enforcement community in the Western District of Louisiana.  They are:

  • Deputy Sheriff Carlos Papillion of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, who died January 28, 2014.
  • Deputy Sheriff Allen Bares Jr. of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, who died June 23, 2014.

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.”

The Department of Justice also offers numerous grants to law enforcement agencies such as a new program to help equip officers with body cameras. The Department of Justice announced this month a $20 million Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Partnership Program to respond to the immediate needs of local and tribal law enforcement organizations. The investment includes $17 million in competitive grants for the purchase of body-worn cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1 million for the development of evaluation tools to study best practices.

“This new program will enhance the services and protections local law enforcement agencies provide in our communities,” Finley stated. “The program can also build trust and keep officers and the public safe. I urge law enforcement agencies and local governments to look into implementing this program and accessing available grants to reduce associated costs.”

Body-worn_camera_fact_sheet_.pdf (842.05 KB)

Administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the BWC pilot program will provide support to help law enforcement agencies develop, implement and evaluate body-worn camera programs across the United States. For additional information about the BWC Pilot Implementation Program, visit this website: http://go.usa.gov/3BtMW.

Updated May 13, 2015