WASHINGTON D.C., DC — More than 30,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. to remember officers killed in the line of duty in 2023, including over 300 officers and families from the Midwest.
The National Police Memorial Fund says 118 law enforcement professionals were killed in the line of duty last year, including eight officers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota. Their names have been etched in the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, joining over 24,000 officers who made the ultimate sacrifice since our country was established.
“Law enforcement does a really good job at rallying around families,” said Brian Peters, President of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officer Association.
Here are the names of officers killed in Minnesota and surrounding states in 2023:
- Officer Peter Jerving (Wisconsin) Milwaukee Police Department, February 7
- Officer Emily Breidenbach, (Wisconsin) Chetek Police Department, April 8
- Officer Hunter Scheel (Wisconsin) Camerson Police Department, April 8
- Deputy Josh Owen (Minnesota) Pope County Sheriffs Office, April 15
- Deputy Katie Leising (Wisconsin) St. Croix Sheriffs Office, May 6
- Officer Jake Wallin (North Dakota – Minnesota native) Fargo Police Department, July 14
- Officer Kevin M. Cram, (Iowa) Algona Police Department, Sept. 13
- Deputy Paul Martin (North Dakota) Mercer Sheriff’s Office, Dec. 6
Support for men and women in law enforcement has been on display across the nation as the country celebrates National Police Week.
Peters acknowledges the last four years have been tumultuous for officers in Minnesota. The state was cast into the national spotlight with the murder of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Police have been on the receiving end of hostility, anger and frustration.
That's born out by statistics gathered by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). In 2023, the agency recorded the highest number of attacks on police officers ever. State data shows 1,179 officers were assaulted and 19 were shot.
Peters said he feels that people have become more violent and defiant in Minnesota in the last decade.
“How do we fix it? That’s the million dollar question,” Peters said.
Most recently, two officers and a firefighter were killed in Burnsville. The names of the officers killed in the incident will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2025 but the department sent a handful of officers to Washington D.C. to participate in this year’s events too.
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