2022 -- H 8249

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LC005907

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING THE WEEK OF MAY 15 THROUGH MAY 21, 2022 TO BE "NATIONAL

POLICE WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALL

POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE

LINE OF DUTY

     Introduced By: Representatives Hull, Noret, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Filippi, Fenton-
Fung, Baginski, McLaughlin, Nardone, and Azzinaro

     Date Introduced: May 12, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, In 1962, President John Kennedy signed a proclamation declaring May 15th

of each year to be National Police Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15th falls to

be National Police Week. In 1994, President Clinton directed that the United States flag be flown

at half-staff every May 15th; and

     WHEREAS, This year, during the week of May 15 through May 21, we remember and

honor all the brave men and women serving as police and law enforcement officers who through

the years have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect the public in service to our nation;

and

     WHEREAS, The FBI database states that 59 police officers were killed in the line of duty

from January 1, 2021 to September 30, 2021, a fifty-one percent increase from the prior year; and

     WHEREAS, Nationally, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while

performing their duties, an increase of 4,071 from 2019. FBI Director Christopher Wray has

stated that on average, a law enforcement officer is murdered more often than every five days in

the United States; and

     WHEREAS, According to the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), a nonprofit

organization that keeps track of all statistics related to law enforcement officers killed in the line

of duty, since 1791, there have been 25,747 known line-of-duty deaths, including 53 from the

State of Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, Each year during National Police Week, approximately 25,000 to 40,000

attendees congregate in Washington D.C., at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

where they attend vigils and services to honor the memory of all the police and law enforcement

officers who have perished in service to our nation; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

proclaims May 15 through May 21 of 2022 to be "National Police Week" in the State of Rhode

Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of the resolution to the International Brotherhood of Police Officers,

and to Mr. Patrick Yoes, National President, Fraternal Order of Police.

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LC005907

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