[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9123--MAY 9, 2014

Proclamation 9123 of May 9, 2014

Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year, America sets aside a week to salute the men and women who do
the difficult, dangerous, and often thankless work of safeguarding our
communities. Our Nation's peace officers embody the very idea of
citizenship--that along with our rights come responsibilities, both to
ourselves and to others. During Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police
Week, we celebrate those who protect and serve us every minute of every
day, and we honor the courageous officers who devoted themselves so
fully to others that in the process they laid down their lives.
As we mourn the fallen, let us also remember how they lived. With
unflinching commitment, they defended our schools and businesses. They
guarded prisons; patrolled borders; and kept us safe at home, on the
road, and as we went about our lives. To their families, we owe an
unpayable debt. And to the men and women who carry their mission
forward, we owe our unyielding support.
Our Nation has an obligation to ensure that as police officers face
untold risks in the line of duty, we are doing whatever we can to
protect them. This means providing all necessary resources so they can
get the job done, hiring new officers where they are needed most, and
investing in training to prepare those on the front lines for
potentially deadly situations. It also means making reforms to curb
senseless epidemics of violence that threaten law enforcement officers
and haunt the neighborhoods they serve.
Just as police officers never let down their guard, we must never let
slide our gratitude. We should extend our thanks not only in times of
tragedy, but for every tragedy averted--every accident avoided because a
patrol officer took a drunk driver off the streets, every child made
safer because a criminal was brought to justice, every life saved
because police officers raced to the scene. In other words, we must show
our gratitude every day.
By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat.
676), and by Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the
President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each
year as ``Peace Officers Memorial Day'' and the week in which it falls
as ``Police Week.''

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NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2014, as Peace Officers Memorial Day
and May 11 through May 17, 2014, as Police Week. I call upon all
Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and
activities. I also call on Governors of the United States and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States, and appropriate officials of
all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff
on Peace Officers Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to
display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that
day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of May,
in the year of our Lord two thousand fourteen, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA