FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – For over 90 years, the men and women of the Indiana State Police have committed to the values of duty, honor, and sacrifice in their service to the citizens of Indiana.
During this National Police Week, the Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Post put out the following to honor those lives lost in the mission to serve and protect:
It is in that value of sacrifice that we as law enforcement professionals place the safety of others ahead our own. All too often that steadfast commitment results in a loss of life, our own. To date there have been forty-nine Indiana State Police personnel that have lost their lives in the line of duty.
As an agency, the Indiana State Police embraces a solemn duty to remember, honor, and celebrate the lives of our personnel that have made the ultimate sacrifice. We perform that duty in a number of ways, whether it be the Annual Memorial Service(s) held at each District during the month of May; the Memorial headstones and Memorial boards that are displayed at each District facility; our In Memoriam web page the ‘Lest We Forget’ memorials sent out annually on each heroes date of death; roadside memorials shrines; and Memorial flags placed at the headstone where each of our fallen now forever rests in peace. Along with the tangible practices of remembering, it is also expected that all ISP personnel perform their duties in a manner that reflects favorably and in honor of those that have gone before us.
Presently the Indiana State Police has an entourage of troopers that have traveled to Washington D.C. for National Police Week. with the families of fallen Master Trooper James Bailey (Fort Wayne Post) and Trooper Aaron Smith (Indianapolis Post). National Police Week is held each year in the nation’s capital during the month of May (May 12th-18th, 2024) and offers honor, remembrance, and peer support, while allowing law enforcement, survivors, and citizens to gather and pay homage to those who gave their lives in the line of duty.
The names of Master Trooper James Bailey and Trooper Aaron Smith, along with the seven other officers from Indiana that were killed in the line of duty during 2023, have been forever etched in the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall .
We will always remember, forever honor, and respect those that serve in their memory!
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