Police Honor Fallen Officers
The men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line in keeping the public safe, and sometimes pay the ultimate price.
May 15 is national Law Enforcement Memorial Day.
As a tribute to the fallen, gunshots cracked a moment of silence at the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office.
Representatives from local police departments, the sheriff’s office, and ISP watched as an honor guard raised the flag and then lowered it to half staff as a tribute to the memory of police officers who have given all.
Sheriff Lorin Neilson said sometimes we need a day set aside to remember.
“When it comes to law enforcement, you don’t think too much about them until you need them,? Neilson said.
In a quiet corner of a secluded cemetery outside Lava Hot springs, Idaho State Police Captain Eric Daly salutes a headstone, and places a small ISP flag.
He makes the trip every year, to honor the memory of a man he never met.
Fontaine Cooper was the first ISP trooper to die in the line of duty. He lost his life in shootout in 1935.
“That isn’t what we hire officers to do, is to die for us, but on the other hand, they’re willing to do that, and that’s humbling,? Nielson said.
Daly said that commitment is always on the minds of police officers.
“Every day when he or she puts on a bullet proof vest and straps on a gun they think about those risks. And make no mistake, the family thinks about those risks as well,? Daly said.
