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Taking a Break to Celebrate Cops

What began as a day in 1962 has morphed into a weeklong celebration.

police-appreciation
(Jeffrey Malet)
What began as a day in 1962 has morphed into a weeklong celebration.On any given day, there are well over 4,000 uniformed officers patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., making the nation’s capital No. 1 in the proportion of officers to citizens. Most serve with the Metropolitan Police Department, but many work for the Capitol Police, Secret Service, Park Police and dozens of other law enforcement agencies. But every year in the middle of May, that number swells to tens of thousands. They come from all over the nation and the world to celebrate what has come to be known as National Police Week. President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962. Since then, the day of recognition has morphed into a seven-day affair. The week’s activities include conferences, group motorcycle rides, a candlelight vigil, marching bagpipers, the culmination of a 300-mile Police Unity Tour bike ride and uniform inspections as part of an honor guard competition.
David Kidd is a photojournalist and storyteller for Governing. He can be reached at dkidd@governing.com.
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