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Increases in Officer Deaths
in 2007 Bring about Revamping of National Police Week Plans
The number of line-of-duty deaths in 2007 will be very close to 200.
This drastic increase in deaths has presented a major concern to the planners of
National Police Week. Although Concerns of Police Survivors secured 50
more rooms than the total number used for National Police Week 2007, that
additional number will not cover the increase in attendance that is expected.
To rectify this major issue, the three organizations that put on the major
events of National Police Week are in agreement that the surviving families’
hotel needs must come first. With that in mind, the only major change in
planning, therefore, is that Concerns of Police Survivors will not accept
hotel requests from law enforcement personnel for National Police Week 2008.
Instead, ALL law enforcement personnel seeking hotel accommodations traveling
alone or with surviving families should contact Eileen Ford, phone 301-865-1631;
email:
Eileen@haineshotelservices.com; FAX 301-371-7305.
Directing law enforcement personnel to Eileen will give Concerns of Police
Survivors 200 more rooms for the surviving families and that should rectify the
hotel issues.
Another major planning barrier for National Police Week 2008 arose when a
major medical conference moved into the DC area. The usual nightly rates
that were accessible for National Police Week have increased drastically since
doctors don’t have a problem with paying $289 and up per night while staying at
a hotel. The rates at National Police Week hotels differ drastically.
So the later people respond, the higher their hotel rates could be. C.O.P.S.
will make every effort to house the surviving families of 2007 in the host hotel
and the closest overflow hotels. However, the deadline date for hotel
reservations is vitally important to having this flow as smoothly as possible.
Shuttle buses will transport between hotels during National Police Week so
issues with families staying at different hotels should not present a major
issue.
Law Enforcement Personnel
Traveling to Honor a Fallen 2007 Officer
There will be thousands of law enforcement officers traveling with surviving
families or on their own to attend the National Police Week activities in May.
The ONLY officer that needs to register for National Police Week is the ONE
Memorial Service Escort Officer requested by the Fraternal Order of Police for
the May 15 Memorial Service. (The Memorial Service Escort Officers will
still be on their own to secure hotel rooms for National Police Week but they
are required to attend a 9:00 a.m. meeting on May 14 at the Hilton Alexandria
Mark Center Hotel, 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA.)
Any officer can attend the annual Candlelight Vigil, the May 15 Memorial
Service, and the National Police Survivors’ Conference co-workers’ sessions
without registering for National Police Week. Name tags will not be
printed for co-workers since name tags are not necessary to attend the National
Police Week events.
National Police Week 2008 A
Time of Honoring, Remembering, and Healing
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a Presidential Proclamation that
set aside May 15 as National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day and the week of May 15
as National Police Week. In 2008, National Police Week will run from
Sunday, May 11 through Saturday, May 17; however, events held in the Nation’s
capital will run from May 13 through May 16. A listing of the day-by-day
activities are included at the end of this article.
Invitation packets will be mailed to survivors of 2007 the last week of
January and will be sent with first-class postage. All survivors, however,
should receive their National Police Week 2008 packet by the first week of
February.
Information packets will be sent to the agencies that suffered the loss of
an officer around that same time frame. Information in the agency packets
will direct officers on making hotel accommodations and finding transportation
to and from the airport and the major events for National Police Week.
When registering on-line, survivors should use the code
that appears on the mailing label of their invitation packet to enter this
secured site for on-line registration.
In order to fully understand the following information, there will be
definitions for terms used throughout the text of this article.
Current-Year Survivors: Any family member from a 2007
line-of-duty death and a few families whose officer has not been honored at the
National Peace Officers’ Memorial on May 15, with the death dating back to 2004.
(These few families may have just recently had their Federal claim approved,
making them eligible for honoring at the Memorial Service.)
Past-Year Survivors: Any family member of an officer that was
killed in the line of duty in any year prior to 2007. (There are actually about
100 historical deaths, many dating back to the 1800’s, that will be included in
the reading of names at the Candlelight Vigil on May 13. Survivors from those
officers are not considered current-year survivors, but are considered past-year
survivors.)
Surviving Family Member: The spouse, parents, minor-aged
children/stepchildren, adult children, siblings, in-laws, and fiances/significant
others.
Affected Co-Worker: For National Police Week planning purposes,
an affected co-worker is a law enforcement friend or partner of a fallen officer
that would like to attend the co-worker sessions to be held at the National
Police Survivors’ Conference. However, affected
co-worker do not need to register for National Police Week. They can
simply show up for the seminar sessions planned for affected co-workers on May
14 and May 16 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel.
Memorial Service Escort Officers: The Memorial Service Escort
Officer is the one officer who has been sent to Washington, DC, as the
representative from the agency of the fallen officer for the specific purpose of
escorting the surviving family during the National Peace Officers’ Memorial
Service on May 15.
Survivor Travel Plans for
National Police Week
Survivors should plan to arrive at Reagan National Airport in
Washington, DC. If you arrive at Dulles International Airport or
Baltimore-Washington International Airport, the rates may be cheaper but you
will be on your own to secure transportation to and from the airport to your
assigned National Police Week hotel. Survivors who arrive on either
Monday, May 12, or Tuesday, May 13, at Reagan National Airport will be met by
local officers who will escort them through the airport, assist with luggage,
and get the survivors to buses that will transport them to their National Police
Week hotel.
A May 12 arrival date is highly recommended for West Coast residents since
flying on May 13 would make it difficult for them to be in town in time to
attend the events held the evening of May 13. Survivors who arrive on May
12 will have a down evening with no planned activities. They may choose to take
in the DC sights or simply relax from their trip.
For flight planning purposes, it is also recommended that survivors return
home on May 17, the official departure day, so they can take in all the National
Police Week activities. If survivors do plan to leave immediately
following the May 15 Memorial Service, you should be aware of the fact that the
Memorial Service could last for 2 ½ hours, busing back to the hotel could take
one hour, and security at the airport could take 1 ½ hours. Flights out of
DC before 6:30 p.m. would not be recommended on May 15.
Tuesday, May 13, Information
National Police Week Check-In and Candlelight Vigil
National Police Week Check-In and Orientation: On Tuesday, May
13, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. survivors will check-in and pick up information
they will need for the coming days. The Plaza Ballroom of the Hilton
Alexandria Mark Center Hotel will be the check-in location and surviving
children who will take part in the “C.O.P.S. Kids/Teens” activities during
National Police Week will need to check-in at the Upper Foyer of the Hilton
Alexandria Hotel. Orientation sessions will be held every hour on the hour
and it is highly recommended that first-year attendees attend one of these
orientation sessions.
Shuttle bus service will run throughout the day from overflow hotels to the
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel.
Past-year survivors will be denied on-site registration. Only survivors
of 2007 can register on site and it is strongly recommended that all survivors
pre-register.
The 16th Annual Candlelight Vigil sponsored by the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: Busing from the Hilton Alexandria
Mark Center Hotel, which is where the majority of current-year survivors will be
housed, to the sight of the Annual Candlelight Vigil will begin at 4:15 p.m. and
continue through to 7:00 p.m. Busing from the overflow hotels, where
returning survivors, chapter representatives, and extended family members will
be housed will begin at 5:15 p.m. The Vigil will begin at 8:00 p.m. and
conclude at 9:00 p.m. Following a brief intermission, the reading of the
newly-engraved names will begin and should conclude shortly after 10:00 p.m.
Buses will be available to transport survivors back to their respective hotels.
Wednesday, May 14 The first day
of the National Police Survivors’ Conference, The first day of the “C.O.P.S.
Kids/Teens” Activities, and The Troopers’ Tour of the Capital
Wednesday, May 14, will begin with an 8:00 a.m. continental breakfast
co-sponsored by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) and
Concerns of Police Survivors. The continental breakfast will be held in
the Lower Foyer of the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel for the surviving
families.
For the fallen officers’ children/stepchildren and the minor-aged siblings
of fallen officers: Between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. on May 14, children of
the fallen officers and minor-aged siblings of fallen officers who are attending
“C.O.P.S. Kids/Teens” events will meet in the Magnolia Room of the Hilton
Alexandria Mark Center Hotel, will be arranged into age-specific groups, and
then be transported to the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, where they will spend
the day in group sessions and simply having fun. They will be transported
back to the Hilton Hotel by 6:30 p.m. and they will have been fed dinner.
Survivors can pick up their children at 6:30 and get right on the bus for the
Troopers’ Tour.
Day care will be provided for infants to 5 year-old children/stepchildren and
minor-aged siblings of fallen officers at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Hotel from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on May 14. The National Police Week
registration packet will include an area where these children can be
pre-registered for their visit. Pre-registration certainly helps with the
planning so we have enough workers in that day care facility.
There are no day-care plans made for children who are NOT
children/stepchildren of the fallen officers or minor-aged siblings of fallen
officers. Here is information to consider and options available for the
parents of these children:
1. Since there is a lot of standing and walking involved with the events
during National Police Week, you might consider leaving your children at home
with relatives.
2. Since there are no day-care options available at the conference hotels due
to liability issues, you might bring a caretaker with you to tend to your
children while you attend the National Police Survivors’ Conference. The
conference is planned for adults and children are not to attend the luncheons or
the seminar sessions.
For the Surviving Adult Family Members: The opening session of
the National Police Survivors’ Conference for the adult survivors attending
National Police Week 2008 will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Plaza Ballroom of the
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel. The morning will be spent in a large
plenary session and Congressman Ted Poe, a dynamic speaker who fights for law
enforcement and victims’ rights, has been invited to be the morning keynote
speaker. C.O.P.S. National President Jean Hill and Executive Director Suzie
Sawyer will also speak that morning. The session is scheduled to conclude
at 11:15 a.m.
Following a short break, short sessions informing survivors about the C.O.P.S.
Hands-On Programs planned for the summer and fall months will be held at various
locations throughout the hotel. The National Police Week program book will
cite exact locations. Lunch will begin at 12:00 noon and will bring
everyone back to the Plaza Ballroom at the Hilton. The afternoon of May 14
will be spent in breakout sessions where surviving spouses will meet with other
spouses, mothers with other mothers, fathers with other fathers, siblings with
other siblings, adult children with other adult children, etc. The day’s
sessions will conclude at 4:00 p.m.
At 4:30 p.m., one member of each surviving family that will have a fallen
officer honored at the May 15 National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service is asked
to meet with the Fraternal Order of Police and its Auxiliary in the Plaza
Ballroom for a brief meeting on how families will be assembled the following day
for the Memorial Service.
That meeting should conclude with plenty of time for 2007 survivors to grab a
quick meal and head off for the Troopers’ Tour of the Capital. Buses will
leave only from the Hilton Alexandria Hotel at 7:15 p.m. for this riding tour.
Residents at the overflow hotels will need to either stay at the Hilton or
shuttle back to the Hilton to take this tour. The last stop will be
the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Folks should be returned
to their respective National Police Week hotels by 10:00 p.m.
For Memorial Service Escort Officers: Beginning at 9:00 a.m. on
Wednesday, May 14, Memorial Service Escort Officers should plan to attend a
short meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police and its Auxiliary. At
this meeting Memorial Service Escort Officers will learn of their duties and
responsibilities at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.
For Affected Co-Workers: At approximately 9:45 a.m. (immediately
following the 9:00 a.m. meeting for Memorial Service Escort Officers),
debriefing sessions will be held in various meeting rooms in the Hilton
Alexandria Mark Center Hotel for co-workers affected by the death of a fallen
officer. The National Police Week program book will cite specific
locations for these sessions in the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel.
These debriefing sessions will conclude around noon. Officers are on their
own for lunch and there are no planned seminar segments for co-workers the
afternoon of May 14. However, there are several sessions planned specifically
for affected co-workers the morning of May 16 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Thursday, May 15 National Peace
Officers’ Memorial Day
Definitions survivors will need to understand for May 15:
Current-Year Survivors: Any family member from a 2007
line-of-duty death and a few families whose officer has not been honored at the
National Peace Officers’ Memorial on May 15, with the death dating back to 2004.
(These few families may have just recently had their Federal claim approved,
making them eligible for honoring at the Memorial Service.)
Primary Survivor: The primary survivor is the closest survivor
to the fallen officer. In order of recognition, the primary survivor can
be the spouse, dependent aged child(ren), parents, independent aged child(ren)
and then siblings of the officer being honored at the service. If the
officer was not married or the spouse is not present, the responsibility of
placing the flower into the memorial wreath will pass down to the next in line
to serve as the "primary survivor". That person will have the
responsibility of placing the flower or appointing someone else to place the
flower at the Memorial Service.
Participating Family Members will include the primary survivor as well
as children, parents and siblings of the fallen officer. These members of
the family will follow direction for their involvement as participating family
members on May 15.
Non-Participating Family Members will include extended family members
(aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, sibling spouses, in-laws, etc.), friends
and co-workers of the officer being honored. On May 15 these people will
need to follow directions that will be printed for non-participating family
members.
Memorial Service Escort Officers: The Memorial Service Escort
Officer is the one officer who has been sent to Washington, DC, as the
representative from the agency of the fallen officer for the specific purpose of
escorting the surviving family during the National Peace Officers’ Memorial
Service on May 15.
The morning of May 15 may seem chaotic to some; but it is organized chaos!
Returning survivors and extended family members of 2007 are to take the first
buses from their respective hotels at 8:00 a.m. to the Memorial Service site,
the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. In the meantime, survivors of 2007 who
will be participating in the flower placement at the Memorial Service, will
gather at the Plaza Ballroom at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel and be
assembled for the Roll Call of Heroes that will take place during the Memorial
Service. A light fare breakfast will be provided to these survivors as
they board the buses. The bus trip to the Capitol, once all the buses are
loaded, should take about 20 minutes.
The Memorial Service will begin at 12:00 noon and could last as long as 2 ½
hours. If you will be bringing babies or infirmed relatives, please plan
for their issues during this time frame. Immediately following the
Memorial Service, the Memorial wreath will be placed at the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial. Bus transportation is available from the
Memorial Service site to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and back
to the survivors’ respective hotels until 6:00 p.m. There are no
activities planned for the night of May 15.
Friday, May 16 Second day of
the National Police Survivors’ Conference, Second day of the “C.O.P.S.
Kids/Teens” activities, and The Picnic in the Park
The morning of May 16 will begin with continental breakfast for survivors at
the Hilton Alexandria Hotel.
For the Fallen Officers’ Children/Stepchildren and the Minor-Aged Siblings
of Fallen Officers: Between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m., on May 16,
children/stepchildren of the fallen officers and minor-aged siblings of fallen
officers who are attending “C.O.P.S. Kids/Teens” events will meet in the
Magnolia Room of the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel and wait to be
transported to the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy. They will be
returned to the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel by 4:30 p.m.
Day care will be provided for infants to 5 year olds from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel for the surviving
children/stepchildren and siblings of fallen officers.
For Surviving Family Members and Affected Co-Workers: Breakout
sessions for adult surviving family members and affected co-workers will begin
at 9:00 a.m. and end at 11:45 a.m. Lunch will be provided to survivors in
the Plaza Ballroom beginning at 12:00 noon. The National Police Survivors’
Conference will end at 2:30 p.m. and will give survivors a few short hours to
unwind until the final event of National Police Week 2008, the picnic in the
park.
Shuttle buses will run from all National Police Week hotels to Ben Brenman
Park in Alexandria beginning at 5:15 p.m. A bar-be-que dinner will be
served beginning at 6:00 p.m. and the picnic will conclude at 9:00 p.m.
The picnic provides the perfect opportunity for survivors to sit back, relax,
and talk with the new-found friends made during National Police Week 2008.
Saturday, May 17 Official
Departure Day
The official departure day is May 17. C.O.P.S. will have presented each
hotel’s concierge with departure times for survivors’ flights (if provided on
the survivors’ registrations forms) so the hotel can plan accordingly.
Survivors will take the hotel shuttle vans to Reagan National Airport for their
departing flight.
2008 National
Police Week information pack and registration form
2008 National Police Week
online registration form |
