Local law enforcement agencies will come together to host the Boone County Law Enforcement Memorial & Appreciation Event Oct. 11.
The free event will allow all law enforcement agencies in the county to greet residents and honor local officers who have died in the line of duty. Participating agencies include the Thorntown Police Dept., Lebanon Police Dept. Zionsville Police Dept., Jamestown Police Dept., Whitestown Metropolitan Police Dept., Advance Police Dept., Boone County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police.
A meet and greet is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the east side of the Boone County Courthouse in Lebanon. When the sun sets at approximately 7 p.m., attendees will move to the north side of the courthouse for a ceremony honoring local officers who have died in the line of duty. The ceremony will include a multi-agency Honor Guard presentation, Cub Scouts who will lead attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance, guest speakers, bagpipes, a candlelight vigil and a special light presentation. Free food and drinks will be provided.
In previous years, the event was scheduled shortly before noon, when fewer people were able to attend and did not feature a meet and greet, BCSO public information officer Wesley Garst said.
“Every year, we’ve always done a ceremony for the fallen officers,” Garst said. “This goes along, hand in hand, with Police Week, which usually falls in May, so we normally have our ceremony in May.”
The event was not held last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also delayed this year’s ceremony.
“It pushed us from May to October,” Garst said. “That’s what (Washington) D.C. moved their ceremony to, so we just mirrored them. The beginning of Police week is Oct. 11, and we decided to do ours then. It’s always something that was done. This year is just a little bigger.”
