The Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- A support group is encouraging law enforcement families, friends and agencies to remember fallen officers with blue lights at their homes and offices this holiday season.
Nationwide, 153 officers died in the line of duty last year, Sgt. Barb Beland of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said.
Beland, since going through the police academy in 1998, has known nine officers who died serving the public. She supports the blue light remembrance sponsored by the group known as Concerns of Police Survivors.
“Blue traditionally stands for law enforcement, because of the uniforms,” Beland said. "... It carries through with the idea of the ‘thin blue line’ -- police standing on the line between crime and the community.”
A newsletter from the group also notes the color symbolizes peace.
“By displaying your blue lights you will be sending a dual message that you support America’s peacekeepers and that you hope the coming year will be a year of peace,” the newsletter said.