Peace Officers Memorial Day Marked with Lowered Flags
Monday, May. 14, 2012
All flags on the Utah State University campus will be lowered and flown at half-staff Tuesday, May 15, in commemoration of Peace Officers Memorial Day and in observance of Police Week. The gesture is a tribute to fallen peace officers and is one of two dates required by federal law when flags are to be flown at half-staff. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, is the second federally-mandated day.
The state flag of Utah will also be flown at half-staff by order of Gov. Gary Herbert.
Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week are observed in the United States to pay tribute to local, state and federal peace officers. The memorial is observed annually on May 15, and Police Week is the calendar week in which the memorial date falls.
The observance was created Oct. 1, 1961, when Congress asked the president to designate May 15 to honor peace officers. President John F. Kennedy signed the bill into law. Amended in 1994, President Bill Clinton, through Public Law 103-322, directed that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff on May 15.
In observance of the executive order, the flags of the United States of America and the flag of the state of Utah will be flown at half-staff at all federal and state facilities from sunrise to sunset Tuesday, May 15.
In a statement released by Gov. Herbert’s office, he acknowledged the contributions of the peace officers who serve in our communities.
Read the full presidential proclamation issue by President Barack Obama on the White House website.
