Central Texas law enforcement agencies are honoring the officers who died in the line of duty, as part of National Police Week.
In Texas, 17 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2016, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund's 2016Preliminary Law Enforcement Officer Fatalities Report. Five of those officers were killed during an ambush attack in Dallas.
"Every day in our lives, it could be the last day. When you walk out that door, there is the possibility that it is your last day. We hope not but if it does happen, we never want to forget the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice," Woodway Public Safety Director Yost Zakhary said.
Officers in West were asked to wear their mourning badge this week and to attend the McLennan County Peace Officer Memorial Service at 11 a.m. on Thursday. In Bell County, that memorial took place on Monday.
This week is also a time where officers still serving our community are thanked for their service. For example, Hewitt Police Chief Jim Devlin is giving his officers something special every day this week.
At Woodway Public Safety, officers are being reminded the important role they play every day.
"These officers are doing good every single day. They do save lives, they do help people and that's what public safety is about," Zakhary said.
Cpl. Jason Graves and two other Woodway Public Safety officers helped save a man's life who had a heart attack at church last year.
"We found him collapsed on the floor. We immediately assessed the situation and began CPR. When that third officer came in, we were able to administer two separate shocks with the AED and that man came back and thanked us for our service that day," Graves said.
Graves who is also a paramedic said he would do it all over again if the situation happened again.
"It's what we do at all times. It's what we took an oath to do," Graves said. It's something that I would do no matter what wearing a uniform or not."
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