MARYSVILLE — The city of Marysville commemorated Peace Officers’ Memorial Day in a somber ceremony on the morning of Wednesday, May 15, at the Police Officers and Firefighters Memorial just outside of the Marysville Library.

“We don’t want to have to observe this day,” Marysville Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said, noting that the annual day is devoted to memorializing law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty, in addition to recognizing those family members, friends and fellow officers who are left behind to cope with those losses. “But we need to honor the sacrifices of those brave men and women.”

Pastor Greg Kanehen, a chaplain and crisis support coordinator for the Marysville Police Department, extended his blessings to police officers and firefighters alike, noting that “it doesn’t matter the shape of the shield or the color of the uniform,” before Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring took to the podium.

Nehring, who had proclaimed National Police Week from May 12-18 for the city of Marysville at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 14, observed that Washington state had only one peace officer fatality in 2012, when Washington State Patrol Trooper Tony Radulescu was shot and killed while making a routine traffic stop on Feb. 23  of last year, on Highway 16 on the Kitsap Peninsula. Radulescu’s name is being added, along with those of 320 other officers killed in the line of duty, to the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. That number includes officers who had died in previous years, who were not yet formally dedicated.

“While we remember and honor those who died in the line of duty, we must also make the commitment to meet increased violence with increased vigilance, and work together to do all in our power to ensure the safety of the law enforcement professionals who protect our us, our neighborhoods and our community,” Nehring said. “As citizens, we should never forget the vital role that the Marysville Police and other law enforcement professionals perform in safeguarding the life, rights, property and freedoms that we enjoy.”

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 127 officers died in the line of duty in 2012, a nationwide decrease of 23 percent from the year prior. On average, a law enforcement officer is killed somewhere in the U.S. every 57 hours, according to Memorial Fund statistics. The organization estimates 160 officers are killed each year. Most commonly, officers are shot while in the line of duty.