A time to say thank you to those who protect us in Yakima!

It’s National Police Week, May 11-17. The week was established by a joint congressional resolution in 1962 to give special recognition to law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Yakima Police Capt. Jay Seely said Peace Officers’ Memorial Day is scheduled for May 15. He says they will honor the officers that day at the department, but he says they have decided to wait until August to hold a special ceremony outside the Yakima Police Department. honor officers who died in the line of duty.

Yakima Police will hold a special ceremony on August 3

He says the Yakima Police Department will hold a special ceremony on August 3. It is the day in 2021 that Sergeant Joseph Deccio, 38, died of a medical issue while on duty. Deccio was rushed to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, but doctors were unable to save his life. He will be honored Aug. 3 when the Yakima Police Department recognizes officers like Deccio who have died in the line of duty. The ceremony will take place in front of the Richard A. Zais Law and Justice Center at 200 South 3rd Street.
Members of the Yakima Police Honor Guard will raise and lower the half-staff flag.Traditionally on this day, the guard will also place a memorial wreath and display a poster with the names of law enforcement officers law and K-9 agents who died in the line of duty in 2021.

A sharp increase in deaths in the line of duty occurred in 2021

Deaths in the line of duty increased 55% in 2021 compared to 2020 among law enforcement officers nationwide, according to the 2021 law enforcement officer fatalities report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. 617 officers died last year, 5 of the deaths occurred in Washington State.