[Archived] Sheriff’s Office Honors National Correctional Officers Week with Wreath Layings and Memorial Services

Alexandria Sheriff’s Office Honors National Correctional Officers Week with Wreath Laying at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Special Events in Alexandria

• Alexandria Sheriff’s Captain presenting wreath at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on behalf of Metropolitan region on Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m.
• Alexandria wreath laying ceremony on Tuesday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m.
• Annual Alexandria Police and Sheriff Memorial Service on Thursday, May 10, noon to 1 p.m.

Sheriff Dana Lawhorne and the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office will be participating in a series of events during National Correctional Officers and Employees Week which officially runs from Sunday, May 6 through Saturday, May 12.

On Saturday, May 5, at 10 a.m., the Corrections Chiefs Committee of the Metropolitan Council of Governments is sponsoring a wreath laying ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. Alexandria Sheriff’s Captain Frank Milano, who is the 2012 Chair of the Corrections Chiefs Committee, has the distinct honor of presenting the wreath in a ceremony to recognize the excellent work and dedication of correctional employees and to increase awareness of the important role they play in keeping our communities safe. Sheriff Lawhorne, his staff and the Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard will also be attending and paying tribute to the more than 20,000 fallen law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

On Tuesday, May 8, at 1:30 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office will join the Alexandria Police Department and the Alexandria Retired Police, Fire and Sheriff Association at a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial marker at Waterfront Park, 1A Prince Street, in Old Town. A combined honor guard of deputy sheriffs and police officers will present the colors and Sheriff Lawhorne will be among those officials sharing brief remarks about the significance of the memorial, National Correctional Officers Week, and National Police Week, which runs Sunday, May 13 through Saturday, May 19.

Then on Thursday, May 10, from noon to 1 p.m., Sheriff Lawhorne and the Sheriff’s Office will join the Alexandria Police Department and the Alexandria Retired Police, Fire and Sheriff Association at the annual Alexandria Police and Sheriff Memorial Service at First Baptist Church, 2932 King Street. The public is invited to join current and retired members of the Sheriff’s Office and Police Department as they honor the memory of their fallen comrades.  Nineteen Alexandria law enforcement officers – 18 police officers and one deputy sheriff – are known to have died in the line of duty.

At a ceremony held last year during National Correctional Officers and Employees Week, the City of Alexandria and the Sheriff’s Office renamed the Alexandria Detention Center the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center in honor of Deputy William Truesdale, who was slain by a prisoner in 1981. At the same ceremony, Deputy Truesdale’s son, Kevin, was sworn in as an Alexandria deputy sheriff. He is currently attending the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy and is expected to graduate in June.