Other LanguagesOLYMPIA -- The State of Washington will honor all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty and recognize officers who have given service beyond the call of duty at a special ceremony on the Capitol Campus, May 8.
Governor Christine Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna will award six law enforcement officers this year’s Medal of Honor, the state’s highest law enforcement award. The honor is bestowed upon officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice or have displayed exceptionally meritorious conduct.
- When: 1 p.m. on May 8, 2009
- Where: Law Enforcement Memorial Site on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.
- Details: The ceremony is open to the public with a catered reception following the ceremony in the Columbia room in the Capitol building.
Since 1854, more than 280 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in the State of Washington. In 1994, the Washington Legislature passed RCW 41.72 establishing the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor. This honor is reserved for those police officers who have been killed in the line of duty or have distinguished themselves by exceptional meritorious conduct.
New names of officers killed in the line of duty engraved on the State Law Enforcement Memorial include:
- Sgt. Nelson Ng, Ellensburg Police Department;
- Deputy Anne Jackson, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office; and
- Officer Kristine Fairbanks, U.S. Forest Service.
The Medal of Honor will be awarded posthumously to Jackson and Fairbanks.
Corporal Chris LaBlanc, Vancouver Police Department, will receive the award for serious injury.
Officer John Key, Vancouver Police Department, Sergeant Scott Schanaker, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Scott Holmes, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, will receive the award for meritorious conduct.
The ceremony is an opportunity for the citizens of the state of Washington to honor not only those officers who have been killed in the line of duty and those who have distinguished themselves by exceptional meritorious conduct, but also to recognize all officers who continue, at great risk and peril, to protect those they serve.
The ceremony is coordinated by the Washington State Law Enforcement Medal Committee and the Behind the Badge Foundation.
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| Officer Kristine Fairbanks | Deputy Scott Holmes | Deputy Anne Jackson | Officer John Key | |||
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| Corporal Chris LeBlanc | Sergeant Nelson Ng | Sergeant Scott Schanaker |
Contact:
- Marvin Skeen, Chief Investigator for the state Attorney General’s Office and Secretary, Law Enforcement Medal of Honor Committee, 206-389-2021
- Shannon Sessions, Behind the Badge Foundation, 425-754-3904 (cell) or ssessions@ci.lynnwood.wa.us
- Janelle Guthrie, AGO Communications Director, (360) 586-0725