Law Enforcement Memorial Day will be observed at 10 a.m. Friday, May 25 on the Marion County Courthouse lawn.
Columbia Police Chief Michael Kelly and Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall invite members of the public to attend the service, which is held annually.
Several area ministers and law enforcement officials will speak. The ceremony features a wreath laying at a monument dedicated to law enforcement on the courthouse grounds.
The ceremony ends with an honor guard firing a salute to the fallen officers. Families of the officers who have died in the line of duty are often present at the ceremony and are presented with flowers.
The list of Marion County officers who have died in the line of duty numbers eight. They include: Sheriff J.V. Polk died on April 22, 1960; Columbia Police Department officer Leonard Conerly died Dec. 7, 1978; deputy Jerry Bryant died Jan. 5, 1984; CPD officers Wayne Henebry and Billy D. Patterson were slain on May 8, 1989; deputy Edgar Harrell died on June 1, 1997; officer Danny Sellers on Aug. 8, 1998, and sheriff’s deputy Vernon Long died on Aug. 31, 2002.
