Law Enforcement Officers Lay Wreaths at National Memorial for Police Week

Following a mid-day prayer service at the U.S. Capitol attended by President Barack Obama, several hundred law enforcement officers and their families gathered at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony.

The event Wednesday was one of many in D.C. and throughout the country during National Police Week 2013, which runs through Saturday, May 18. The annual event brings together between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees from departments throughout the United States and internationally, according to the Police Week website.

In Iowa City, we remember Patrolman Edward M. Leeney, who was killed on April 29, 1926. He was the only Iowa City officer to lose his life in the line of duty.

"He was operating a police motorcycle, chasing a speeding car, when he collided with a street car," Iowa City Sgt. Vicki Lalla said in an email. 

Join Iowa City Patch for more community news or join us on Facebook and Twitter.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is engraved with the names of U.S. law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.

Among those newly engraved names for ceremonies this year: Prince William County Officer Chris Yung, killed on New Year's Eve 2012; Alexandria Police Officer Morton Marshall Ford III, who died in 2011 from complications caused by his shooting in 1974; and Virginia State Trooper Andrew David Fox, killed in October 2012.

Philip Wiggins, chaplain for the Fraternal Order of Police, offered a brief prayer for those gathered at the memorial Wednesday afternoon.

"Our gracious God and father, we thank you again for the beautiful you have given us and the time we can come together to pause and remember those men and women in law enforcement who gave the ultimate sacrifice all that we might be able to share in the freedom that we share today."

Wiggins prayed that God might give the families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty "peace and comfort."

The ceremony concluded with bag pipes playing "Amazing Grace" and groups of officers taking their turns standing solemnly next to the wreaths placed in the center of the memorial park.