Fallen PSPD officers remembered in Washington, D.C.
It is a somber weekend in Washington, D.C., as tens of thousands of people from across the United States are arriving in the nation’s capital to honor law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Two of Palm Springs’ own, were remembered Saturday night with their service and lives recognized during National Police Week.
(Watch our memorial to our fallen PSPD officers below)
President Donald Trump also spoke at the Peace Officers’ Memorial Service Monday morning.
Their memory is now etched in stone, and in the hearts and minds of many, at the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial. Their names were read aloud, one by one, during a candlelight vigil.
“Jose Gilberto Vega. Lesley Marie Zerebny,” read U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Thousands of lights, flickered on the National Mall in memory of the heroes in blue.
“Words, video, pictures can’t describe the emotion that I felt while being there. Hearing the officers names read aloud and seeing the families stand was just incredibly powerful,” said Officer Joe Cook, the president of the Palm Springs Police Officers’ Association.
A dozen Palm Springs Police Officers, the families of Vega and Zerebny, gathered in the city alongside tens of thousands of others. About ten deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department were also in attendance at Monday’s memorial service.
Patrol door in D.C. as PSPD honors Zerebny and Vega for Police Week
Attorney General Sessions, offered a word of solace for loved ones of the fallen.
“After time, the shadow of grief gives way to the brightness of gratitude,” he said.
The vigil took place ahead of Monday’s National Memorial Service. Both are events that organizers say can help bring some closure to grieving loved ones.
“It is healing event,” said Steve Groeninger, the Sr. Dir. of Communications for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “They talk about how special these events are. And how it’s meaningful to them to see their loved one recognized by the country that he or she worked to protect.”
It has been a painful year, that proved deadly for law enforcement. In 2016, 143 officers gave the ultimate sacrifice
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will continue to follow the Palm Springs Police Department on their journey in Washington, D.C.
