Sunapee police honor fallen officers on Memorial Day

The Sunapee Police Department marked National Peace Officers Memorial Day with a May 15 message that tied the town’s day-to-day policing to a larger obligation to remember officers who died in the line of duty. In a community where residents know local officers by name and rely on them for routine safety, that message carried more weight than a ceremonial note.

The department said the observance is a time for remembrance, reflection and gratitude for the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting others. It also connected Sunapee to the state and national law-enforcement community, pointing residents toward New Hampshire’s memorial ceremony in Concord and underscoring that the risks carried by officers do not stop at the town line.

National Peace Officers Memorial Day is observed every year on May 15, and it falls during National Police Week. In 2026, that week included in-person events and the 38th Annual Candlelight Vigil in Washington, D.C., on May 13. The Fraternal Order of Police also held its National Peace Officers Memorial Service on May 15 at the west front of the U.S. Capitol, reinforcing the national scope of the observance.

Closer to home, the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Association said its 34th annual memorial ceremony will be held Friday, May 22, 2026. Concord’s city calendar listed a street closure for the event, a sign that the ceremony remains a formal civic occasion as well as a law-enforcement tribute. The state memorial has deep roots: the first annual ceremony was held in 1993.

By 2025, the New Hampshire memorial listed 55 names representing 34 law-enforcement agencies. That number gives the Sunapee observance a stark local context, because it shows how many departments across the state have been touched by line-of-duty loss. The White House also issued a 2026 proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, placing the remembrance within a federal tradition of honoring officers who were killed or disabled in service.

For Sunapee, the May 15 message was not about a policy vote or a staffing announcement. It was a public acknowledgment that the work of local policing is part of a larger chain of service, sacrifice and trust that stretches from Sullivan County to Concord and, each May, to the Capitol and the nation’s memorials.