Forsyth County orders flags half-staff for Peace Officers Memorial Day

Forsyth County lowered the United States and Georgia flags at county facilities to half-staff on Friday, May 15, in a formal nod to Peace Officers Memorial Day. The notice framed the observance as a mark of respect for law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty and for the families who carry that loss with them.

The county’s message came a day after Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order directing flags on state buildings and grounds in Georgia to be flown at half-staff for the same observance. Kemp’s order tied May 15 to Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week around it to Police Week, placing Forsyth County’s action squarely within a broader state and national remembrance.

Forsyth County had already taken its own step on May 7, when the Board of Commissioners proclaimed May 15, 2026, as Peace Officers Memorial Day during its regular meeting. The county paired that proclamation with Building Safety Month, continuing a pattern of using early-May civic notices to recognize public-service themes side by side.

The county’s memorial-day observance also carried a local law-enforcement connection that went beyond a ceremonial flag order. In 2025, the Board of Commissioners also proclaimed May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day, and members of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office attended the meeting to receive the proclamation. That detail gave the observance a direct local face, linking the tribute to deputies and officers who serve Forsyth County every day.

The county thanked “the brave peace officers who regularly put their lives on the line in service to our community” and acknowledged the sacrifices made by their families. That language reflected the human side of the tribute, especially in a county where public safety remains one of the most visible functions of government and where memorial observances are woven into the calendar of official business.

The White House also marked Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week in a May 11 proclamation, underscoring that Forsyth County’s half-staff order was part of a national tradition rather than a stand-alone local gesture. In Forsyth County’s commission-county manager form of government, those observances often appear as board proclamations and countywide notices, turning a routine flag directive into a public reminder of duty, sacrifice and remembrance.