Presidential Document2024-10764
Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2024
Primary source
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Published
May 15, 2024
Signed
May 10, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 42333-42334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10764]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 15, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 42333]]
Proclamation 10755 of May 10, 2024
Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Every day, police officers pin on their shields and
walk out the door, rushing into harm's way to keep the
rest of us safe. Being a police officer is more than
what they do--it is who they are. On Peace Officers
Memorial Day and during Police Week, we recognize the
incredible courage of our Nation's police officers and
honor the fallen heroes, whose ultimate sacrifice we
can never repay.
During the pandemic, States and cities saw violent
crime rising as they faced deep cuts in law enforcement
and public safety budgets. That is why the American
Rescue Plan, one of the first bills I signed as
President, provided $350 billion that States could use
to keep law enforcement on the beat and communities
safe from violence. That led to the largest Federal
investment in public safety in our history. Police
departments used that funding to establish training
facilities, hire more officers, and raise salaries. I
also expanded benefits for first responders disabled in
the line of duty and for their families. I increased
access to mental health resources for police officers,
who too often experience emotional and physical trauma
on the job. Supporting our police officers with
resources they need to do their jobs has paid off. Last
year, the United States had one of the lowest rates of
violent crime in more than 50 years.
My Administration recognizes that being a police
officer is harder than ever. We expect them to be
everything to everyone--counselors to people
experiencing a crisis, social workers to kids who have
been abandoned, and guardians to communities flooded
with weapons of war. That is why we have invested in
more crisis responders who work alongside police
officers to respond to non-violent crimes. We have also
increased investments in recruiting, retaining, and
training officers and in violence prevention to get
guns off the streets. We are working hard to strengthen
the bonds of trust between officers and the people they
serve. My Budget requests over $10 billion to recruit,
train, support, and hire 100,000 additional police
officers trained in effective, accountable community
policing--working hand in hand with community leaders
and local partners to gain trust and advance public
safety.
My Administration has also taken historic action to end
the scourge of gun violence in America, which puts far
too many police officers at risk. To date, my
Administration has taken more executive actions to stop
the flow of illegal guns than any other administration
in history. I formed the first-ever White House Office
of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President
Harris. I signed the most significant gun safety law in
nearly 30 years. I appointed the first Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Director to lead the agency in over 7 years, who has
since led efforts to crack down on gun trafficking,
ghost guns, rogue gun dealers, and unlicensed sellers
that fuel the flow of illegal firearms. I continue to
call on the Congress to ban assault weapons and high-
capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, fully
fund ATF, and pass universal background checks and a
national red flag law.
[[Page 42334]]
This year, we also honor our Nation's law enforcement
families, who serve and sacrifice alongside their loved
ones. Every day, they summon courage as their loved
ones put on their badges and leave for work, praying
for their safe return home. To those who have lost a
loved one who served, I know that no memorial can fill
the void left in your heart. But I hope you find solace
in knowing that their memory lives on through you, the
community they served, and all those that they inspired
through their example. Our Nation will never forget
their sacrifice.
Last year, I bestowed six law enforcement officers with
the Medal of Valor for going to unimaginable lengths to
protect their fellow citizens. They exemplified a
selflessness of character and a bravery that inspires.
On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week,
let us show our gratitude for all the women and men of
our Nation's law enforcement community, who make
extraordinary sacrifices every day. Let us honor the
memory of those who have fallen in service to their
fellow Americans. Let us recommit to supporting the
people in uniform and their families, who ensure the
safety of our communities all across the Nation.
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.''
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May
15, 2024, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 12
through May 18, 2024, as Police Week. I call upon all
Americans to observe these events with appropriate
ceremonies and activities and salute our Nation's brave
law enforcement officers and remember their peace
officer brothers and sisters who have given their last
full measure of devotion in the line of duty. I also
call on the Governors of the United States and its
Territories, 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
tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-10764
Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 15, 2024.
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