Washington D.C. — Organizers of National Police Week have announced that the May events have been postponed until October 2021. The host organizations of National Police Week, which include the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, the Fraternal Order of Police and Auxiliary (FOP), and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), announced this week that they made the “difficult but necessary decision” to postpone in-person events of National Police Week to October 13-17, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
The original event was to be held May 11-16, 2021. The organizers cited the inability to secure necessary permits in time for in-person gatherings due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
The National Police Weekend will offer the same honor, remembrance, and peer support as the extended National Police Week, while allowing law enforcement, survivors, and citizens to gather and pay homage to those who gave their lives in the line of duty.
The planned schedule of events includes:
• Thursday, October 14 – NLEOMF Candlelight Vigil
• Friday, October 15 – C.O.P.S. National Police Survivors’ Conference
• Saturday, October 16 – FOP 40th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service
According to an issued press release, “the three host organizations remain committed to their missions and to honoring the fallen law enforcement heroes from 2019 and 2020, while making sure their survivors are supported. In addition to the in-person events in October, each organization will host virtual events on originally scheduled dates in May 2021.”
Brief History
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation’s Capital each year.
The National Peace Officers Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil, which is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and seminars sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)
National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world. This provides a unique opportunity to meet others who work in law enforcement. In that spirit, the Fraternal Order of Police DC Lodge #1 sponsors receptions each afternoon and evening during Police Week. These events are open to all law enforcement personnel and are an experience unlike any other.
