 Good morning, I'm Corporal Christopher Baird. I'm from District 3 and on behalf of our Denver Police Department, we'd like to welcome you all to the 31st annual Officer Memorial ceremony. National Police Week occurs each year in May and it serves to recognize the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement and this was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962. National Police Week pays a special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. Now would you please stand if you're able to and join us for the presentation of colors by the Denver Police Department Color Guard and the National Anthem sung by Sergeant Kim Trudell and technician Latrissa Gus. Please welcome Denver Police Chaplain Elliot Baskin for our invocation. Let us pray, God of the selfless, God of the strong and the brave. Watch over our fallen Denver Police Department officers and their loved ones who dedicated their lives just serving and protecting others. Men and women who have answered the call of honor, duty and service. Today we gather at our annual DPD Memorial Program recalling our brothers and sisters of blue who wore their DPD badge with honor, who paid the ultimate price to maintain law and order. Let's all those who have died in our service, whether on duty, on patrol, or off duty in the supermarket. May their memories be sanctified with gratitude and love. As we say together, amen. And I'd like to take the time here to thank everyone for taking the time out to attend this ceremony today. Thank you to the members of the Denver Police Department, to the Denver Sheriff's Department, to the Denver Fire Department and all other agencies that are in attendance today, as well as the agencies and individuals who were unable to attend the ceremony as they remain ever vigilant protecting our communities that they serve. I'd like to also give a special recognition and thank you to the Denver Police Museum, the Denver Police Officers Foundation, our organizers and volunteers for the time and effort put forth year after year to make this ceremony possible and meaningful to everyone involved. Most importantly, I'd like to give special thanks to the families, friends and loved ones of our fallen officers for whom we gather here today to honor the heroic sacrifices of your loved ones and the spirit of service and protection live with us and we carry it with us every day. We'd also like to recognize those who've gone before us who've demonstrated selfless courage in the face of danger. And now, to say a few words, please welcome Mayor Michael B. Hancock. Thanks, Corporal. Thank you, Corporal Baird. And let me thank everyone for being here today, especially the families of those who lost the loved one in the line of duty. I'd like to ask that the family members who are here on behalf of a fallen officer to please stand if you're able. Thank you all so very much for being here. Just a brief word, please know that we not only honor your loved ones during Police Week, we honor their sacrifice every day. And you, too, are remembered in our thoughts and our prayers. Thank you again for being here. I enjoy the evening with many of you last night and to continue to share stories about your loved ones. Thank you for your courage, for your resiliency and for your power of love. God bless you all. Thank you. You may be seated. I'm also going to ask you to join with me in saying a very special thank you to the men and women of our Police Department who stand here with us today. They are currently working and remain committed to keeping our city safe. They are the true heroes. And now a day goes by that I, the Denver Police Department or our entire city are thankful that you answer the call to duty and service. You know, an officer is killed in a line of duty and impacts everyone in our community, especially their families, friends and fellow officers. As I mentioned last night, I had a chance to join them briefly for dinner to listen to the stories of their loved ones. These were human beings, men and women who had feelings, who had one desire after serving and protecting our city. And that was to get home back to their families. Fortunately, on that fateful day that we lost them, they received a message, a call, maybe a knock on the door that their loved one was not coming home. But what I heard from these family members was that there's a lot of resiliency, power of love, power of dedication that remain to this Police Department, to the people of this city, even though they and their families have paid the ultimate sacrifice for service. Today, we come together to honor 77, all 77 of these officers, a few of whom are making with a special recognition their milestone anniversaries this year, which you can see are printed in the program. Two of the most recent officers are Officer Bruce Fanderjack, which will be this with this year will be his 25th anniversary this November of his passing in June with Mark 10 years since we lost Officer Salina Hollis. I was mayor then and I can say that what that was one of the toughest days of my service to the city. And I cannot even imagine what that day was like for the Hollis family and what each of you experienced with the loss of a loved one. Her daughter Amir is here today with her lovely daughter, the granddaughter Salina Hollis as well as her parents. Again, we thank you all for being here. But I can say what I saw that day as I responded to the hospital. I was met with tremendous emotion by those officers who were on duty came from all over the city. Some who were off duty. And what I saw was togetherness, resiliency and tremendous support. Their message to all of us that day and continues every day of their services. We must stand together as a community to mourn but also to celebrate the lives of our fallen officers and to show our appreciation for their selflessness. Again, I thank you all on behalf of our grateful city for being here today. May God bless you. May God continue to cover you each and every day of your lives. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Hancock, for your meaningful thoughts and words. Please welcome executive director of safety, Armando Salache. Good morning, everyone. It's really great to be here. And what an incredible crowd today. So thank you all for joining us. Thank you all for being here today to remember our fallen officers who gave ultimate sacrifice. It is an honor to stand with you all as we recognize their incredible credible service, selflessness and dedication to the community that we all love. Thank you to the city leadership that is represented here today for your support of our survivors and our police officers. I see all branches of our government represented and I will tell you that your support means a lot to us, especially during these last couple of difficult years that we have endured. I really am appreciative for that as our men and women in uniform. Thank you, Mayor Hancock, for your unwavering support and for always being there to support our officers as you were 10 years ago for the families. The names engraved on this wall exemplify the bravery and commitment that Denver police officers make and the uncertainty and danger that they face each and every day as they answer the call. There are not words that can convey the gratitude and appreciation we feel for their bravery and willingness to run towards threats to keep Denver safe to the family, friends and colleagues of those lost in the line of duty. I also want to recognize the sacrifices you all have made. Please know the Department of Public Safety stands with you in honoring their memories and that their sacrifice will never be forgotten. To our officers in attendance today. I know the magnitude of what you're feeling. I followed in my dad's footsteps as I began a law enforcement career as an officer when I was 21 years old. I can tell you that not a day goes by that I do not think of our brothers and sisters in uniform that we have lost. I spent the last week. It was real and honor and privilege to spend the last week in Washington DC with Sheriff Diggins and a contingent from the Denver Sheriff Department where over 600 names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial wall, including two deputies from the Denver Sheriff Department that we lost last year. Witnessing the magnitude of the support and the amount of survivors present was overwhelming. I was thankful to be able to spend time at the Memorial Wall. I have too many friends and colleagues and partners that are on that wall that lost their lives in the line of duty. First line of death I experienced when I was 10 years old. My father, his partner on a robbery squad was shot and killed by a bank robber. That detective, John Davis, still holds a big part of my life. Every day I put on that uniform, I carried him with me in his memory with him as we do and as these officers do with your loved ones. I was also able to pay respects to a friend of mine that was killed in the line of duty in my last year of service in in uniform service in 2014. I didn't understand until I knelt before his name the grief that I felt and I still carry, although it been eight years since his death. But then I remembered. I remembered all the good things about him. I remembered all the things and the example that he said for us and I know that that's what you all do with your loved ones and I know what these officers do each day. I ask our officers here today to respect and honor the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice that the 77 officers on this wall have represented by honoring the sacrifices through our actions, how we treat the next crime victim, going the extra mile for our community, doing all we can to protect and serve no matter the environment. I appreciate you all. I appreciate you all joining us today. May we all act with courage, integrity and purpose that each of the fallen officers did and honor their memory in the way that we serve our community and treat one another. Thank you Executive Director Sinalte for your kind words. Please welcome Debra Chief Paul and David. Thank you. What a day as we reflect today we really think back on police week. The week started for us with the promotion ceremony, a joyous day that we got to recognize the hard work that many of our officers have endured in order to take leadership positions within our department. We followed that up with some ribbon postings at some of the signs for fallen officers many years ago. There was a rededication to officer Banderjack sign somebody that I personally knew and then last night as the mayor alluded to a dinner with families with survivors that really highlights why we are here. Today the weather is perfect. The crowd having so many folks here. I do want to acknowledge a couple of additional folks. Senator Chris Hanson has joined us a friend of public safety. We have our partners with the Denver Sheriff's Department, Elias Diggins, that Denver Health Paramedics. One of the reasons we're not adding a name to this wall is some of the work that the Denver Paramedics did just 12 months ago with officer Black. So we will forever be indebted to our partnership not only with the Paramedic Division but Denver Health and Dr. McVaney. Douglas County's here. Douglas County stepped up in our time of need and has helped us and we have a very close partnership as we move forward keeping not only the city of Denver safe but also the state of Colorado working in partnership to keep our people safe. Now 77, 77 Denver police officers, 77 loved ones, 77 brave souls. That's what this memorial represents and so much more. These were our daughters, our sons, our mothers, our fathers, sisters and brothers. Today is about them, the life that they led, and their loved ones. This is a time to gather and honor them for their ultimate sacrifice and the legacies that they continue to lead behind for the people of Denver and this department. We all know the dangers of this job and all 77 of these brave souls knew exactly what could happen to them. Yet they did it anyway. The 1500 police officers know how dangerous this job is. They know how difficult this job is and they proudly stand ready to serve our community. Just as we mourn together, we serve together and we cannot do this without the support of our community, of our elected officials. We want to thank Mayor Hancock, we want to thank City Council, we want to thank Executive Director Armando Saldate, we want to thank the museum for recognizing Police Week in the way that they do so we can come together and celebrate the lives of these 77 brave Denver police officers. We want to thank the Denver Police Foundation and the Denver Police Officer Foundation. Thank you all for your unwavering support to the women and men who continue to do this very difficult job knowing how dangerous it is. I also want to acknowledge the officers who wore this uniform before our retired officers because they knew the same that our current officers do, how difficult this job is, how dangerous it is and they did those job anyway. So thank you to our retirees and the legacy that you all have continued for this department. Again thank you to the families of the fallen, their sacrifice was very much your sacrifice and we appreciate it. And while we mourn them, we carry them with you and with us always. Thank you and be safe. Thank you Chief Payson for your reflections on our fallen officers and your kind words. Please stand for the announcement of the roll call of fallen officers from Denver District 2 Detective Everett Moore. Officers, attention! James C. Ritchie, John C. Phillips, Charles F. Wandes, Charles A. Holly, Gusta Heiser, Alpheus J. Moore, Wendell P. Smith, Thomas C. Clifford, William E. Griffiths, Stuart K. Harvey, Frank Duhlin, William Ohada, John Spellman, William H. Beck, William P. Stevens, Samuel C. Carpenter, Andrew Samberg, William McPherson, William H. Kavelin, Luther McMayhill, Frank S. Potestio, Peter A. Walsh, Emerson L. McKinnon, George C. Klein, James E. Bozio, Roy O. Downey, Willie O. Steen, Clarence E. Zees, Forrest Ross, Arthur J. Kinkerton, Richie Rose, James Shannon, Elmer I. Rich, Harry R. Oly, Robert K. Evans, Thomas J. Durkin, Clarence W. Alston, William C. Keating, George P. Snyder, John F. Day, Thomas J. O'Connor, John J. O'Donnell, Clarence E. Breaker, Alston E. McCassan, Robert M. Campbell, Pasquale C. Maranero, Forrest E. Sawyer, Jacob G. Binner, Brad Renavato, Earl F. Burns, Virgil M. Hall, William A. Clayson, Donald L. Seek, Edward H. Smurdel, Daryl J. Seward, Carl D. Kanabi, Paul L. Major, Paul D. Wilson, William J. Werks, Merle E. Nady, William E. Smith, Donald L. DeBruno, Richard Klein, David Tafoya, Kathleen Garcia, Patrick J. Pollock, James E. Weir, Robert W. Wallace, Sean Lyman, Ronald D. Herrera, Bruce Van Der Jack, Michael E. Down, Dennis M. Lakata, Donald R. Young, David Roberts, Selena C. Hollis, Robert E. Sanderball. Let us pray that our fallen Denver Police Department officers recall their memories, honored their stories of giving their life to the citizens of our city and county. May our lives always be enriched because of the paths they blaze before us as we remember them. In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them. In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we remember them. In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring, we remember them. In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we remember them. In the rustling of the leaves and the beauty of autumn, we remember them. In the beginning of the year and when it ends, we remember them. When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember them. When we are lost and sick at health, we remember them. When we have joys we yearn to share, we remember them. When we hear the bucler's taps, we remember them. So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us as we remember them. As we say together, Amen.