Peace Officers Memorial Day 2027 is on Saturday

About Peace Officers Memorial Day

The day is a national act of remembrance for police officers, sheriffs' deputies, federal agents and other peace officers who died or were permanently disabled while serving. It anchors National Police Week, the calendar week that contains May 15, when law enforcement agencies, families of fallen officers and the public gather for memorial services across the country.

Congress created both observances through a joint resolution approved on October 1, 1962, during the Kennedy administration (Public Law 87-726). The provision now sits in Title 36 of the US Code, section 136, which requests the President to issue a proclamation every year designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The law also directs federal officials to fly the US flag at half-staff on government buildings that day and invites state and local governments and the public to do the same.

Each recent president has issued the proclamation, usually naming May 15 as the memorial day and the surrounding Sunday-to-Saturday week as Police Week. In 2025, for example, Police Week ran from May 11 to May 17.

Much of the public program takes place in Washington, DC. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund holds a candlelight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, where the names of officers who have died in the line of duty are engraved, and the Fraternal Order of Police organizes the Peace Officers Memorial Day service at the US Capitol. The day is not a federal public holiday, and government offices and businesses stay open.

Sources: 36 U.S. Code § 136, Peace Officers Memorial Day (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School), Federal Register: Proclamation 10938, Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2025 (GovInfo), National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: National Police Week. How we check dates.

How to mark Peace Officers Memorial Day

• Fly your flag at half-staff from sunrise to sunset, as the annual proclamation invites.
• Attend a memorial service held by your local police department or sheriff's office.
• Learn the names and stories of officers from your own community who died on duty.
• Send a note of support to a local agency or to a family support group for survivors of fallen officers.
• If you are in Washington, DC, during Police Week, visit the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Judiciary Square.

Peace Officers Memorial Day dates