Flags at half-staff to honor peace officers

Police car
Police car
MPR Photo/Sea Stachura

Flags are flying at half-staff on state property today in recognition of Peace Officers Memorial Day. It is in honor of the federal, state and local officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty.

About 260 officers have been killed while on the job in Minnesota over the years. Kim Klawiter, with the state Law Enforcement Memorial Association, says the list keeps growing.

"Once or twice a year, we get calls from either relatives or police officers that know of someone who died in the line of duty that we were not aware of, so, we have been adding about one or two a year for about the last five or six years," Klawiter said.

Among the names being added to the roll of honor is a Lyon County lawman, who died in the line of duty in 1936. His death had been forgotten, until a relative and the county sheriff gathered details from old records.

The Law Enforcement memorial Association will hold a special ceremony today at the Peace Officers memorial near the state Capitol.

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