Law enforcement agencies in Bartholomew County, along with officials from the Columbus Fire Department, will pay their respects to police officers nationwide who died in the line of duty over the past 12 months.
In commemoration of National Police Week, the annual memorial service will be 9 a.m. Friday at the public safety plaza near Second and Jackson streets in Columbus.
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop is scheduled to speak at the 30-minute ceremony, which will feature honor guards, bagpipes, a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.
Almost 100 people attended last year’s observance, where the names of 146 officers were read. Organizers anticipate about 135 names read during this year’s event, according to the Columbus Police Department.
On Friday, a wreath will be placed at the memorial in honor of Southport Police Department Lt. Aaron Allen and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Mojo who died in 2017.
The most recent Indiana officer killed in the line of duty was Robert Pitts, a 45-year-old Terre Haute officer who was fatally wounded May 4 while approaching a 21-year-old suspect who had barricading himself inside an apartment.
Two months earlier, on March 2, Boone County Deputy Jake Pickett, 34, succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained while attempting to apprehend a wanted subject.
The public is encouraged to attend Friday’s memorial.
