Since 1897, 78 members of the Atlanta Police Department have fallen in the line of duty. On Tuesday, they were honored at City Hall at the 20th annual Atlanta Police Memorial Service.
Dozens of police officers, in their dress blues, attended the somber service in the City Hall Atrium. On the second-floor balcony, the latest class of police recruits formed a perimeter.
"During times like these, to have officers come up and give you a hug and tell me to keep my head up, means a lot," said Vincent Fulton Williams, whose wife, Investigator Sherry Lyons-Williams, was killed April 4, 2001, in the line of duty. "I thank God for all the fallen officers. To have someone give their life is the ultimate sacrifice."
The service was dedicated to Lyons-Williams, the only female APD officer killed in the line of duty. Lyons-Williams -- a 13-year veteran of the force -- died while she and her narcotics team executed a search warrant.
Williams honored his wife daily by wearing a leather vest adorned with dozens of patches and badges of fallen officers. Over his heart was the badge of his wife of six years.
Former Mayor Andrew Young, the keynote speaker for the service, said the fallen officers were cognizant of the dangers of their jobs.
“They knew they were risking their lives,” Young said. “But they did it knowingly, willingly and heroically.”
Young said the advent of programs for young people to keep them off the streets is a major step in preventing violence and crime in the community, and a step that saves lives.
There have been only two deaths since Lyons-Williams', with the last one happening in 2006 when Officer Peter Faatz was killed in an auto accident.
“As mayor, the hardest thing I had to do was go to a funeral of an officer,” Young said, “because I knew it could have been prevented.”
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed directed his comments to family members of slain officers to acknowledge what they have given up.
“I will never fully grasp the pain you experienced,” Reed said. “But I speak for thousands of people when I say thank you for allowing your loved ones to serve.”
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