Police officers and staff who have died on duty have been remembered at a National Memorial Arboretum service.
The 20th annual Care of Police Survivors (COPS) event saw 1,200 people attend.
The service opened with the a procession of more than 200 motorcycles of the Blue Knights Law ride, an international motorcycle club for active and retired police officers and law-enforcement agencies.
There was also a visit from the Police Unity Tour (PUT) made up of 400 officers and support teams who had cycled the length of the UK with each rider wearing a bracelet engraved
with the name of a fallen officer, their end of watch date and the force they served in.
PUT founder, Chief Superintendent Rob Atkin MBE, said:
“We get people coming back every year to do the ride.
“It brings together police officers to remember their colleagues and connects us to the survivors.
“We know the money we raise is going to good use for the people who need it.”
Chief Superintendent Rob Atkin MBE
The service also saw a roll of honour read out paying tribute to the officers who died on duty during the past 12 months, with speeches also made by some of their families.
COPS chief executive, Tim Buckley, said:
“This annual event for the families of officers that die on duty is an extraordinary affirmation of the power of people to rebuild their shattered lives.
“This year marked our 20th anniversary, and we brought more survivors together than ever to remember and celebrate their fallen officers.
“Seeing the bonds of peer support and life-long friendships forged through the pain of such a terrible loss is the whole reason COPS exists, and it is a privilege and honour to be part of the charity and this experience.”
Tim Buckley
After the ceremony and wreath laying, the families placed roses along The Beat, a growing memorial with a tree planted for every police force in the United Kingdom.
Christine Fulton MBE, co-founder and life vice president of COPS, said:
“When we started Care of Police Survivors, we never imagined it would be a big charity. We thought it would just be the recently bereaved wanting to be involved – it took us quite by surprise how families would contact us for officers’ deaths from such a long time ago.”
Christine Fulton MBE
