Trump Proclaims Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week 2026

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026 — President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 11029 on May 11 designating May 15, 2026, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week of May 10-16, 2026, as Police Week.

The proclamation applies to all federal agencies, state and local governments that participate in joint observances, and the public. It calls for the American flag to fly at half-staff on May 15 at all federal buildings, military installations and naval vessels. Per the Federal Register notice, the action also encourages flying the flag at half-staff at homes and businesses on that date.

This changes nothing in statute or regulation. The designations rest on the existing statutory framework of 36 U.S.C. 136-137, first enacted in 1962, which set the annual dates and authorized presidential proclamations. The new document simply fulfills the statutory direction for 2026; no operational programs, funding, or enforcement mechanisms are altered.

Downstream, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will proceed with its annual candlelight vigil and memorial services on the designated dates. Federal agencies must comply with the half-staff flag order on May 15. State and local police departments and municipalities that coordinate with federal observances will align their public events to the proclaimed week.

Congress receives a formal reminder of its separate annual resolution process under the same statute, though no new legislative deadline is created.

The proclamation is the second issued by Trump for these observances; he signed a similar document in 2017 during his first term. The underlying statute has prompted an annual presidential proclamation every year since the early 1960s regardless of administration. The Federal Register published the 2026 text on May 14 after the May 11 signing.

The two-page document contains no dollar amounts, no new regulatory requirements, and no changes to law enforcement grant programs or hiring authorities.