Dallas

Thousands Attend Candlelight Vigil for Fallen Officers

The 29th Annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial honored 394 officers who have died in the line of duty.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly spoke at the event and lead the crowd in the candle lighting.

"We mourn these fallen officers. We cannot avoid this dark truth," Sessions said. "We are here because these men and women gave everything, gave their very lives, for us."

The names of 394 officers that were killed in the line of duty were read out loud, 143 of those officers have died last year. The other 251 died before 2016, but their names had never been added to the memorial.

"We gather tonight on the National Mall, under the shadows of two of this city’s most recognizable monuments, joined by the need and desire, the privilege, to honor the 21,183 names on the sacred Memorial walls," said Craig W. Floyd, President and CEO of the Memorial Fund.

With this year's additions, there are now 21,183 names engraved on the memorial. The names represent all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, federal law enforcement and military police agencies.

"We dedicate the names of the 394 officers added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, recognizing the sacrifices these men and women made to protect their country and communities," Floyd said.

Twenty-four officers from Texas were added at Saturday's memorial, including the five that were killed in the July 2016 ambush in Downtown Dallas.

An estimated 30,000 people attended the ceremony, including surviving family members, friends and law enforcement colleagues, according to the Memorial Fund's press release.

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