Rockwall County to host memorial service honoring fallen officers May 14

Rockwall County will hold its Law Enforcement Police Memorial Service at 9 a.m. May 14 at Rest Haven Memorial Park in Rockwall, inviting residents to stand with officers, families, and county leaders for a solemn reading of the names of Texas law enforcement officers who died since the last memorial service.

The county’s notice turns the morning gathering into more than a ceremonial stop. It is a public moment of remembrance for the people who keep local streets, schools, and neighborhoods safe, and for the families left behind after a line-of-duty death. By reading names from across Texas, Rockwall County is tying its local observance to a wider statewide loss, not just the agencies based in Rockwall County.

This year’s service falls in the same season as National Police Week, a tradition that dates back to 1962, when President John F. Kennedy designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. Rockwall County marked May 11-17, 2025, as National Police Week last year, when law enforcement agencies across the county gathered on May 15 at Rest Haven Funeral Home in Rockwall for a similar memorial. That recurring observance shows the county has made the ceremony part of its civic calendar, not a one-time tribute.

The local service also connects Rockwall County to the state memorial in Austin, where the Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial monument was dedicated in 1999 and now bears the names of more than 2,000 officers who died in the line of duty. The annual Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony, coordinated by the Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial Committee, was held April 26 at the Texas State Capitol grounds this year, honoring 25 fallen officers and five historically fallen officers.

Rockwall County’s 2025 remembrance also featured a familiar local voice: Royse City Police Department Chief Kirk Aldridge, who spoke at the ceremony and underscored the meaning of Police Week for the county’s law enforcement community. His presence helped anchor the service in Rockwall County’s own agencies, even as the county recognized sacrifice that reaches far beyond its borders.

By asking the public to show up in person at Rest Haven Memorial Park, Rockwall County is making clear that this kind of remembrance depends on more than law enforcement alone. It is a community duty, grounded in names, families, and the long measure of service that stretches from Rockwall to Austin and across Texas.