By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A ceremony is coming up Friday to commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day.
"The men and women that work at the Hutchinson Police Department and the Fire Department, for that matter, have dedicated their lives to this community and to be part of something bigger than themselves," said Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper. "I say this every time I have an applicant sitting in front of me and I'm trying to determine his heart and why he wants to be a police officer. There are not a lot of people these days that are willing to put on a uniform, pin a badge to their chest, kiss their loved ones goodbye and walk out the door and risk their life in a community full of people that most of the time, don't care about them."
The hope is that the public will be able to come out over their lunch hour to honor the officers who have passed and those who continue to work for all the law enforcement agencies in Reno County.
"We're having a joint ceremony with the Reno County Sheriff's Office in front of the Hutchinson Police Department at 11 a.m. Friday," Hooper said.
Immediately following the event is a barbecue for law enforcement in SW Bricktown Park. A previous version of this story implied that it was also open to the public. Hutch Post regrets the error.
Hutchinson police officers who have died in the line of duty are Officer Reason Sherman Monroe, end of watch July 3rd, 1924 and Officer Kenneth Kennedy end of watch Friday, September 15th, 1972.