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President Obama Pays Tribute to Fallen Police Officers

Summary: 
The President acknowledged and thanked the families of those who have fallen, and highlighted the courageous acts of those we lost
President Barack Obama at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service

President Barack Obama, with Chuck Canterbury, president, Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, arrives at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service, an annual ceremony honoring law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the previous year, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. May 15, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama was at the U.S Capitol today for a ceremony where he paid tribute to law enforcement officials who were killed in the line of duty in the previous year. The serive is part of the annual Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week. 

In his remarks, the President acknowledged and thanked the families of those who have fallen, and highlighted the courageous acts of those we lost. He also praised the bravery of all those who serve as law enforcement officers across our country:

Every American who wears the badge knows the burdens that come with it -- the long hours and the stress; the knowledge that just about any moment could be a matter of life or death.  You carry these burdens so the rest of us don’t have to. 

And this shared sense of purpose brings you together, and it brings you to our nation’s capital today.  You come from different states and different backgrounds and different walks of life, but I know that you come here as a community:  one family, united by a quiet strength and a willingness to sacrifice on behalf of others. 

The rest of us can never fully understand what you go through.  But please know that we hold you in our hearts -- not just today, but always.  We are forever in your debt.  And it is on behalf of all of us, the entire American people, that I offer my thoughts, my prayers, and my thanks.