Elgin Police and members of the community met on Thursday to honor officers who died in the last year in line with service and expressed gratitude for those who serve every day.
Police chief Ana Lalley said that when men and women choose law enforcement as a profession, they do it for countless reasons.
But an agreement that they share is that there is no guarantee that they will return home safely at the end of the day.
Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley speaks on Thursday during the annual memorial service of the department in the Hemmens Cultural Center.
Rick west/rwest@dailyherald.com
“The daily sacrifices that the law enforcement officers are made against a willingness and desire to serve and protect the safety of their communities,” said Lalley during the memorial service in the Hemens Cultural Center.
“Sometimes tragedy happens in this service and an officer loses his life,” Lally added. “During this time it is the care, love and support of friends, families and the community that offers strength and courage for their loved ones who have changed forever.”
Debbie Wiseman, former president of Illinois Concerns of Police Survivors, will speak on Thursday during the annual memorial service of the Elgin Police Department in the Hemens Cultural Center.
Rick west/rwest@dailyherald.com
Debbie Wiseman is one of those people.
The former president of Illinois worries about police survivors Spoke about her brother, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Mark Toney.
Toney was a dedicated law enforcement officer with 24 years of service that tragically lost his life in a car accident during a rapid chase during his service on September 20, 2011.
“On that day I became a part of a club that nobody wants to be part of – the family of a fallen survivor,” she said.
Wiseman said “amazing” support from the law enforcement community and the public helped her family through a terrible time. She said that events such as that Thursday, families know that the sacrifices of their loved ones are not forgotten.
The concerns of Illinois about police survivors offer resources to help rebuild the lives of surviving families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of service.
Commander Tom Micheal puts his hand on his heart during the annual memorial service of the Elgin on Thursday.
Rick west/rwest@dailyherald.com
Nationally, 165 officers died in the line in 2024. Lalley read the names of nine of those officers who came from Illinois, as well as six retired Elgin officers who died last year. She then asked for a moment of silence to honor their sacrifice.
The memorial service also contained a performance of the national anthem of the Larkin High School Choir, a candlelight ceremony, the placement of a wreath, a shooting detail and playing cranes to honor fallen officers.
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