Police officers and other law enforcement personnel from all police agencies throughout Cook County are expected to attend the 11th Annual Cook County Peace Officers Ceremony of Recognition and Remembrance on Thursday, May 10th. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and honors peace officers killed in the line of duty from throughout Cook County. The event will be held at the Cermak Woods Forest Preserve, 7601 W. Ogden Avenue, in Lyons, and is open to the public.
The event begins with a silent police motorcade comprised of police motorcycles and vehicles from over 60 different departments. The motorcade will begin at 10:30am from Morton College, 39th & Central in Cicero. It will travel west down 39th St (Pershing Road) to Ogden and then to the site at Cermak Woods where the ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m.
The ceremony will honor officers who died in the line of duty within the last year:
• Chicago Police Officer Paul W. Nauden, End Of Watch (E.O.W.) 5-20-11
• Chicago Police Clifton Lewis, E.O.W. 12-29-11
In addition, the ceremony will pay tribute to historical honorees who died in the line of duty:
• Cook County Sheriff’s Police Officer William J. Pottow, E.O.W. 6-6-45
• Cook County Sheriff’s Police Officer Leonard Hurwitz, E.O.W. 6-9-45
These two Sheriff’s Police officers were killed in the line of duty more than 65 years ago, but it was only recently that their sacrifices were discovered. This will be the first time they are honored as line of duty deaths.
The event is hosted by the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County, a non-profit organization established in 2001 dedicated to honoring all area officers killed in the line of duty. The organization’s primary goal is to build the first-ever Cook County Peace Officers Memorial to acknowledge the sacrifices made by these officers.
By resolution, the Cook County Board of Commissioners has designated May 10th as Peace Officer Day of Recognition and Remembrance in Cook County.
For more information about the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County, or about the May 10th ceremony, visit www.pomfcc.org or e-mail [email protected] or contact Ed Sajdak at 312-315-9629.