The Midland Police Department will observe National Police Memorial Week starting Sunday, May 10 through Saturday, May 16.
MPD will begin the week with its 11th annual bicycle memorial ride to honor fallen officers in Texas. The ride is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 10 and will depart from the south parking lot of the Midland Police and Communication Center at 601 N. Loraine. The distance of this year’s ride will be 19 miles to honor the 16 law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty between May 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015. The last three miles will be in honor of Officer John Perry Wyrick (1935), Officer Bryan Scoggins (1961), and Lieutenant Gordon Smith Jr. (1961), the three MPD officers who have been killed while protecting our city.
The annual memorial service for fallen officers in Texas is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, May 14 at the Clay Desta Atrium located at 6 Desta Drive. The names of each officer who made the ultimate sacrifice will be read aloud and a rose will be placed in their memory. Both the memorial ride and the memorial service are public events and the community is encouraged to attend.
The MPD Honor Guard will also be traveling to Washington D.C. next week to honor fallen Midland County Deputy Sgt. Michael Naylor, who was killed in the line of duty in October 2014. Sgt. Naylor’s name will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial during National Police Week.
###Media Contact: Communications Specialist Geena Martinez