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Steady rain fell across the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, May 13, as hundreds of fallen law enforcement officers were honored during the 37th Annual Candlelight Vigil.

From shortly after 9 p.m. until 10 p.m., members of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s board and guests from across the country read portions of the “Roll Call of Heroes.” The ceremony recognized 345 officers whose names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in April 2025.

Among them were four Virginia officers who died while serving their communities. Their deaths left wives, relatives, friends and colleagues mourning their loss.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis participated in the reading of the roll call, which names officers newly engraved on the memorial’s walls.

The 2025 roll call included 148 federal, state, tribal and local officers who died in the line of duty during 2024. Another 197 officers died in earlier years—including cases dating to 1834—and were recently approved for inclusion following research by the memorial fund.

“As we gather again to honor our fallen officers, we’re reminded not only of the lives they gave, but of the unwavering devotion that led them to serve,” William Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, said in an April 2 release.

Four Virginia officers added to the wall

The Virginia officers newly memorialized are:

  • Sergeant Floyd H. Miles Jr., who suffered a fatal heart attack in 2024 while struggling with a person inside an ambulance.

  • Deputy Sheriff Hunter D. Reedy, who was shot and killed in 2024 while helping Marion Police Department officers during a traffic stop.

  • Correctional Officer Joel Legaspi, who suffered a fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2018 after working mandatory overtime at Indian Creek Medical Center.

  • Warden Earl R. Barksdale, who died after contracting COVID-19 while serving at Baskerville Correctional Center in 2020.

Each officer’s name now has a designated panel and line location at the memorial, which is maintained by the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Line-of-duty deaths climbed in 2024

Preliminary figures show that 148 law enforcement professionals died in the line of duty nationwide in 2024, up 25% from the 118 deaths recorded in 2023. The total covers federal, state, county, municipal, military, tribal and U.S. territorial agencies.

Firearms were the leading cause of death, killing 52 officers—13% more than the 46 killed by gunfire in 2023. Traffic enforcement was the most common circumstance in those cases, accounting for nine deaths. Eight officers were killed while attempting arrests, and another eight died while serving warrants, civil papers or eviction notices. Handguns were involved in 27 firearms-related deaths.

Traffic incidents killed 46 officers, a 48% increase from the 31 traffic-related deaths in 2023. Another 35 deaths were attributed to physical causes, while four officers drowned and four were beaten to death.

With the latest additions, the memorial now bears the names of 24,412 officers representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, federal agencies, universities and military police organizations.