36th Annual Candlelight Vigil of the 2024 National Police Week.
On May 13, The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund officially added the 282 names of U.S. law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty to the Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., as part of the 36th Annual Candlelight Vigil of the 2024 National Police Week. The newly added officers' names inscribed on the wall include 118 federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2023 and 164 who died in previous years.
Chief Kevin Davis is pictured on May 7 with Monsignor Sal Criscuolo at the 30th Annual Blue Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., remembering fallen heroes and supporting those who serve. During the 34th Annual Candlelight Vigil held May 13, Chief Davis read the Virginia and West Virginia sections of the Roll Call of Heroes, 2024.
“Their sacrifice is now being recognized after the Memorial Fund’s research staff confirmed the circumstances of their death and their record of law enforcement service,” states a release by the Memorial Fund. The vigil’s purpose was to dedicate, honor, and remember all the newly added officers by reading aloud their names on the Roll Call of Heroes Honored in 2024.
William Alexander, CEO of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, stated, "Their memory remains a testament to valor and selflessness, two core tenets that a law enforcement officer abides by when sworn into service."
According to reports, 30,000 people gathered at the mall that night. Numerous officers, including those from the Fairfax County Police Department, wore their respective uniforms. Among the many others appeared to be bereaved families of fallen officers, some with children. Listening intently to each name read aloud; the crowd stood silent under the shared weight of all the officers who died in public service and their families’ losses.
Chief Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Police Department, read a section of the Roll Call of Heroes, 2024. “From the Commonwealth of Virginia, Joseph Edward Carey, Sr.; Mark Christopher Wagner, II (bell tolls). From the State of West Virginia, Steven Paul Gitlin, II; Cory Stephen Maynard (bell tolls).”
Following the Roll Call readings on the National Mall, participants lit their candles, generating waves of golden flickers across the long, dark distances to the United States Capitol and Washington Monument.
In a video produced by The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund of the 2024 Candlelight Vigil, Arlington County Police Department Lt. Steve Troyano says, “We lost Harvey to 9-11-related cancer. It changes everything.”
Terrica Gibson, a survivor, says, “The wall remembers and honors them.”
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports that, with new names in 2024, the wall now bears the names of 24,067 officers. Among the names are six Fairfax County Police Department law enforcement. They are Sergeant John Joseph Donohue. EOW: Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, cause: COVID-19; Second Lieutenant Francis Joseph Stecco, EOW: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, cause: drowned; Master Police Officer Michael E. Garbarino, EOW: Wednesday, May 17, 2006, cause: gunfire; Detective Vicky Anne Owen Armel, EOW: Monday, May 8, 2006, cause: gunfire; Captain Tommy F. Bernal, EOW: Thursday, June 28, 2001, cause: motorcycle crash; and Police Officer Karen Jean Bassford, EOW: Wednesday, July 27, 1977, cause: automobile crash.
According to preliminary data compiled by The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund in its 2023 End-of-Year Preliminary Law Enforcement Officers Fatalities Report, 47 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty. Compared to the 63 officers shot and killed in 2022, this number represents a 25 percent decrease. However, the report states, “The number of men and women fatally wounded by gunfire remains a pressing concern for law enforcement personnel.”
The report cites that traffic-related incidents claimed the lives of 37 officers in 2023, a 27 percent decrease from 51 in 2022.