HENDERSON CO., KY (WFIE) -
On Monday, law enforcement agencies saluted those fallen officers killed in the line of duty by holding Henderson's first ever memorial service to honor fallen officers.
It was a special bond that brought Kathy Thienes to Henderson's Central Park.
"I am here to recognize the officers that have fallen," said Thienes.
Thienes listened as the names of six Henderson officers who lost their lives in the line of duty over the years were read out loud. She never knew them, but after serving as a Sergeant in Jacksonville, Alabama for several years as their first female Sergeant, she calls each of them family.
No law enforcement officers in Henderson have lost their lives in the line of duty this year, but across the nation, 36 officers have been killed serving their communities. It's a number, they say, that keeps going up every year.
"When we lost one, it doesn't matter which agency and then you start going outside the town, to the county, to the state, to the nation. It's still one of our families," said Commonwealth Detective Dale Powell.
Family is a word that was used often during this memorial service. Police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, and several other agencies stood shoulder to shoulder, not just as co-workers, but as they say, brothers and sisters.
"We have to rely upon that officer behind us if we're going into a building that we don't know what the situation is. We've got to know that they are as close as family and they're going to protect us as a brother would protect a brother," said Dewayne Reneer of Henderson County Sheriff's Office.
When one of their brothers and sisters is lost, they mourn together as family.
This is National Police Week, and in Kentucky, Governor Beshear has ordered all flags at state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff on Tuesday.
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