[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 19 (Monday, May 15, 2000)]
[Pages 1077-1078]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7307--Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2000

May 11, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    From our earliest days as a Nation, America has been blessed with 
citizens of courage and character who have dedicated their lives to 
keeping the peace in our communities. Five years after the creation of 
the U.S. Marshals Service in 1789, U.S. Marshal Robert Forsyth was shot 
and killed in the line of duty. He was the first of more than 14,000 law 
enforcement personnel since that time to give his life to uphold the law 
and protect the people he was sworn to serve.
    Our Nation owes a lasting debt of gratitude to the men and women of 
our law enforcement community who, each day, put their lives at risk to 
protect us and ensure the safety of our families and homes. Because of 
their skill, valor, and commitment, we have begun to turn the tide on 
crime in America. The murder rate is at its lowest level in more than 30 
years, and the overall crime rate is at its lowest point in 25 years. 
There are

[[Page 1078]]

many reasons for this progress, but police chiefs, policymakers, and 
citizens alike agree that the dedication of our law enforcement officers 
and the spread of community policing have been critical factors. Today, 
in cities and communities across America, residents and police officers 
are working in partnership, forming neighborhood watch organizations, 
banding together against drug dealers and gangs, and building 
connections that are the core of community life and the foundation of a 
civil society.
    Unfortunately, we need look no further than the tragic losses 
suffered by law enforcement officers to recognize the risks that these 
brave men and women face every day. Last year, 50 police officers were 
struck down in the line of duty, and another 84 lost their lives in 
accidents. For these heroes, the safety of their fellow citizens was 
their purpose and passion, and they made the ultimate sacrifice to 
fulfill their duty.
    We can never repay these gallant men and women for their service or 
adequately comfort their families. We can only honor their memory--not 
only in words and ceremony, but in our determination to promote justice, 
uphold the law, and preserve the peace and safety they helped purchase 
with their lives.
    By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962 (76 Stat. 676), the 
Congress has authorized and requested the President to designate May 15 
of each year as ``Peace Officers Memorial Day'' and the week in which it 
falls as ``Police Week,'' and, by Public Law 103-322 (36 U.S.C. 136), 
has directed that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers 
Memorial Day.
     Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton,  President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2000, as Peace Officers 
Memorial Day and May 14 through May 20, 2000, as Police Week. I call 
upon the people of the United States to observe these occasions with 
appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities. I also request the 
Governors of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
as well as the appropriate officials of all units of government, to 
direct that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff on 
Peace Officers Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels 
throughout the United States and all areas under its jurisdiction and 
control. I also invite all Americans to display the flag at half-staff 
from their homes on that day.
     In Witness Whereof,  I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day 
of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence of 
the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:05 a.m., May 12, 
2000]

 Note:  This proclamation was published in the  Federal Register  on May 
15.