Law enforcement, federal and local government representatives, families, and friends gathered on Thursday, May 1 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, to pay honor to fallen law enforcement officers who gave their lives in service to Indian Country.

IACP Indian Country Law Enforcement Section Vice Chairman Jesse Delmar, Chief of the Fort McDowell Tribal Police Department, presents remarks on behalf of the Section at the 2014 Indian Country Law Enforcement Memorial Service

IACP Indian Country Law Enforcement Section Vice Chairman Jesse Delmar, Chief of the Fort McDowell Tribal Police Department, presented remarks on behalf of the Section, greeting the audience in English and his native Navajo language. He provided a brief introduction to the mission and work of the IACP and the Indian Country Law Enforcement Section. Chief Delmar passed on IACP’s condolences to the families of the two officers honored in the service and thanked the families of all of those currently serving in law enforcement for supporting their loved ones in this sometimes dangerous but essential service.

Other featured speakers included Michael S. Black, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); Darren Cruzan, Director of Justice Services, BIA; Terry Hill, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Artesia, New Mexico; representatives of Senator Tom Udall and Congressman Martin Heinrich; Connie L. Patrick, Director, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center; Harry Humbert, Director, Office of Law Enforcement and Security, U.S. Department of the Interior; Trooper Victor Aye, Village Public Safety Officer Program, Alaska Department of Public Safety; Karl Wiese, Undersheriff, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office.

This year, two individuals were added to the Indian Country Officer Memorial, bringing the total number of officers listed on the memorial to 103:

• Alaska State Trooper and Village Public Safety Officer Thomas O. Madole who on March 19, 2013, succumbed to bullet wounds while handling an altercation incident in the community of Manokotak, Alaska.
• Sergeant Robert W. Baron of the Sandoval County, N.M., Sheriff’s Office who on Dec. 6, 2013, succumbed to injuries he sustained the previous day after being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 25 near the Pueblo of San Felipe.
  
  Undersheriff Karl Wiese of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office accepts the traditional quilt and plaque on behalf of Sergeant Robert W. Baron’s family.

IACP Indian Country Section Officer Memorial committee members Jim Molash and Tom Woolworth, both retired from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Justice, presented recognition plaques and traditional quilts to the families of Officer Madole and Sergeant Baron.

For more information about the Indian Law Enforcement Memorial, click here.

For more information about the IACP Indian Country Law Enforcement Section, click here.

To view a video of the 2014 Indian Country Law Enforcement Memorial Service, click here.