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Alexandria police officers and families gathered May 7 to honor 18 officers who died in the line of duty, ending the annual wreath-laying ceremony with a bell toll and the reading of each officer’s name.
The ceremony at the Fallen Officers Memorial outside Alexandria Police Department headquarters was held in connection with National Police Week, observed May 11-17.
Police Chief Tarrick McGuire said the sudden loss of an officer carries a lasting promise to the officer’s family.
“When you bury that individual you make a promise to their family,” McGuire said. “You make a promise that their names will forever be etched in the memory of the community and our department.”
The Rev. Dr. Taft Quincey Heatley of Shiloh Baptist Church opened the ceremony. A presentation of colors followed, and Alexandria City High School senior Grace Legere sang the national anthem.
Among those attending were relatives of Deputy Inspector James Baber, who was killed Oct. 19, 1962, and Private Eugene Yoakum, who died Sept. 27, 1964. Yoakum was 34 when he was killed, and Yoakum Parkway was named in his memory.
Skip Arnold, the great-grandson of Private Julian Arnold, attended with his own grandsons. Julian Arnold, a military veteran who served 14 years with the department, was killed in the line of duty on May 15, 1887.
“I am very grateful to the city and the Alexandria Police Department for doing this every year,” Arnold said. “My whole family appreciates it.”
The Alexandria Police Foundation donated the Fallen Officers Memorial to the city after leading the fundraising and construction effort. The memorial was dedicated in 2015.
Foundation board chair Charlotte Hall noted its 10th anniversary and also recognized the Alexandria Police Suicide Memorial.
“This memorial is a reminder and a remembrance to those in uniform that there is light amidst darkness,” Hall said.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins read Dan Marcou’s Police Week poem, “A Full Measure of Emotion,” and spoke about the sacrifices made by Alexandria officers, including time away from their families and confronting dangerous situations.
“Every time they walk into this building and they look at this memorial, they are reminded of the risks that come with the profession that they chose,” Gaskins said.
The ceremony concluded with the End of Watch roll call. A bell rang solemnly as the names of all 18 fallen officers were read aloud.
McGuire closed by thanking the officers’ families for allowing the department and community to remember their loved ones.
“Their names matter,” he said.