Bellingham Police Department

Thank you to all who stopped by our Bike-to-Work station today.

Our Community Service Officers (CSO) and Recruitment team were thrilled to get some bikes registered and enjoy some early morning conversations!

National Police Week occurs every year in May, since 1962, when President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Police Officers Memorial Day. The calendar week in which the 15th falls was established as National Police Week by a joint resolution of Congress in 1862 to pay special recognition to those law enforcement officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

Each year before National Police Week, the names of fallen officers are carved into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. These names are then read aloud during the candlelight vigil, which occurs on May 13th each year.

Our state lost two law enforcement officers in 2025, Sergeant Kenneth Salas of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office and Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting of the Washington State Patrol. Sgt. Salas' end of watch was August 9, 2025, and Trooper Guting's end of watch was December 19, 2025.

For more information on Sergeant Salas and Trooper Guting please visit: https://behindthebadgefoundation.org/roll-call-archives/

For more information about the candlelight vigil, please visit:
https://nleomf.org/memorial/programs/national-police-week-2026/candlelight-vigil/

Photos courtesy of National Law Enforcement Memorial Page

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund