IN REMEMBRANCE

Starting on Monday, May 16, The Heritage High School public safety class, led by Mr. Crane, began celebrating Law Enforcement Memorial Week. The class did this by setting up a table and having various tests available. There were two physical tests and one written test. One physical test had male participants trying to complete 21 push-ups in one minute, and female participants had to do 9 push-ups. In another physical test, students would have to do 24 sit-ups in a minute to pass. There was also a written quiz of five questions of what would be proper conduct for police officers in certain situations. To pass the written portion, a student had to correctly answer at least three of the five questions. On another day, there was also a tactical reload drill. In this drill, there was a picture of two criminals with an innocent civilian between them. The participant was given a Nerf gun. With the Nerf gun, the student would shoot the criminal on the left, kneel, reload the Nerf gun, shoot the criminal on the right, stand, reload again, and finally shoot the criminal on the left for a second time. To pass, the participant had to do all of this in ten seconds.

Despite what the above description might suggest, Law Enforcement Memorial Week is about more than just attempting some tests. Basically, Law Enforcement Memorial Week is about honoring those who died while performing their duties. According to the information found at the table, on October 1, 1962 under the presidency of John F. Kennedy, May 15 became National Peace Officers Day. Furthermore, the week which May 15 falls on would become National Police Week. A little over a few decades later, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 passed. Also Bill Clinton signed Public Law 103-322, which said that flags would be displayed at half-mast on all government buildings. Currently, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund organizes National Police Week in addition to the Concerns of Police Survivors, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary.