Thursday marked the 36th annual Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, a time to recognize the 37 Polk County law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, dating back to 1886.
“May their service and sacrifice to our community be remembered for generations to come,” said Ricky Newman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Polk County Lodge #46.
One by one, their names were read at the Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial in Veterans Park in Lakeland.
Any family members present were escorted by a law enforcement officer in formal uniform and given a red rose to place on their loved one’s name, etched on a small square of granite among a semi-circle of markers. If no family or friends attended the service, the law enforcement officer placed the rose.
The final name called Thursday morning was that of Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy Blane Lane, who died Oct. 4, 2022, while serving an arrest warrant. His mother and four-year-old daughter placed the red rose on his name, while other family members looked on.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he was grateful two more names were not added Thursday following last weekend’s shooting of two deputies in a northwest Lakeland park by a “Moorish sovereign citizen,” who was killed in the shootout.
Lt. Chad Anderson, 46, remained in the intensive care unit Thursday evening, a bullet permanently lodged between his heart and spine. Judd said doctors feel it is too risky to remove it. Deputy Craig Smith, 55, was sent home Wednesday, his arm recovering after he was shot twice.
A list of the 37 men included in the memorial can be found online, along with brief summaries of how they lost their lives.
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