(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -The City of Spokane honored fallen law enforcement at the 31st annual memorial ceremony on Tuesday morning. Their memories and stories were read aloud. Family and colleagues came from across the state to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the thin blue line "They go out every day and deal with the things that nobody else wants to deal with, and they do it very well," said Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich
Agencies from across the Inland Northwest were in attendance for today's memorial including Coeur d' Alene Police Chief Lee White who remembered sergeant. Greg Moore who was killed in the line of duty three years ago "I vividly remember May 5th, 2015 but what haunts me more is the memory of his parents, friends, wife, and kids and how utterly devastated they looked at his funeral," said Coeur d' Alene Police Chief Lee White.
Some even took time to feel the engraved names of those who they once served with. Remembered during Tuesday's memorial was Peirce County Sheriff's Deputy Daniel McCartney who was shot and killed in the line of duty after responding to a burglary call and being shot during a foot pursuit of the suspect. Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor remembered the sacrifice his deputy made that cold January morning " When one of our own is lost, There is one less person willing to step up to accept the burdens and the difficulty to answer the call of this honorable calling," said Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor.
Since January 1st, 2018 there have been 54 police officers killed in the line of duty, and 27 of those deaths were from were from gunfire.