Biden mourns fallen police at memorial: 'We owe you as a nation'
Source: Reuters
May 15, 2024 12:38 PM EDT Updated an hour ago
May 15 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden addressed police officers on Wednesday gathered in Washington to honor slain colleagues as he tries to prevent his Republican rival Donald Trump from capturing high-profile endorsements from their unions in the coming weeks.
Biden's speech, at the annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol honoring slain officers across the country, was an opportunity to speak directly to law enforcement as he competes against Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Sixty officers were killed in the line of duty in 2023, one fewer than the previous year, according to FBI data. The three-year period ending in 2023 had the highest total number of law enforcement deaths, 193, out of any such three-year period in the past 20 years, the data shows.
We owe you as a nation, Biden says. "Police officer is not just what you do. It's who you are."
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-speaks-police-memorial-bid-shore-up-support-unions-endorse-trump-2024-05-15/