NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Newport News Police Department held a memorial for 12 fallen officers on Friday morning, in recognition of National Police Week.
Chaplains for the department prayed in front of the city's police headquarters at 11 a.m., as officers and city leaders remembered the people who died in the line of duty.
Because of the pandemic, only a few were able to attend, and the department took to social media so that the general public would be able to participate in the May 15 memorial.
In a Facebook post that accompanied the service, Chief Steve Drew wrote that officers knew it was a job that could come with high costs.
"Each fallen officer has a different story ... a family, interests, hopes and dreams. However, what they all had in common was a life of service," he wrote. "This profession is a calling, a calling that is full of rewards and sacrifices."
Among the officers remembered was Katie Thyne, who died in the line of duty in January.
Thyne was part of a traffic stop. When she got up to the car, the driver took off and dragged her before the car crashed.
Thyne graduated from the police academy in 2019. She served in the Navy prior to joining the department and continued to serve the Navy as a reservist.
She is survived by her mother, three brothers, a stepfather, a partner, and a 2-year-old daughter.