President Proclaims Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week 2026

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2026 — President Trump issued a proclamation Friday marking Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 and Police Week for May 10-16, 2026.

The proclamation honors the more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers serving across the United States along with the families of those killed in the line of duty. It directs that the U.S. flag fly at half-staff at the White House and on all federal buildings and grounds on May 15. The action also calls for public observances, including memorial services and tributes to fallen officers.

This proclamation follows the standard process under 36 U.S.C. 112 and Public Law 87-186, which established the annual recognitions in 1962. The prior year's proclamation for 2025 followed identical statutory authority and flag protocol.

The designation triggers immediate operational steps for federal agencies. The General Services Administration must lower flags on all federal properties for the single day. Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DEA and U.S. Marshals Service, incorporate the observance into their internal programming.

State and local governments typically align their own memorial events with the federal dates, affecting thousands of police departments that participate in the national roll call of fallen officers.

Downstream, the proclamation activates planning requirements for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which maintains the memorial in Washington and coordinates the annual candlelight vigil. Congress receives formal notice of the observance, preserving the framework under which lawmakers have funded related programs such as the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program that has provided more than $400 million in payments to survivors since 1976.

The fixed calendar dates also lock in scheduling for law enforcement training academies and union gatherings that occur during Police Week.

This marks the second such proclamation of the current administration, consistent with the uninterrupted annual issuance of the recognition since its statutory creation. The 2026 dates align precisely with those observed in 2025.