The King County Council has accepted a report detailing how King County will establish a memorial recognizing the 16 members of the King County Sheriff’s Office who have been killed in the line of duty since the department was established in 1852.
“Creating this memorial to honor our fallen members of the Sheriff’s Department is the right thing to do,” said Councilman Reagan Dunn. “These heroes gave the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the residents of King County and I am thankful to both the City of Covington and Maple Valley for their support of this proposal.”
The measure has received strong support from the cities of Covington and Maple Valley, which both sent letters signed by the mayors with the backing of their respective city councils urging full support. The two cities contract with King County for law enforcement services.
“The King County Sheriff’s Office has served Covington for more than 160 years – as an unincorporated area and now as a city – so it’s especially important to our community to have a memorial nearby to honor those who gave everything to keep our families safe,” said Covington Mayor Margaret Harto.
The Sheriff’s Office is King County’s first and longest serving law enforcement agency. The first sheriff deputy killed in the line of duty was in 1853, the most recent was in 2006. All 16 deputies are recognized both in Washington, D.C. as part of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and in Olympia, where they are listed on the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial. But there is no memorial in the county where the deputies lost their lives.
“The City of Maple Valley has a very close working relationship with the King County Sheriff’s Office,” said Maple Valley Mayor Bill Allison. “Not only has the department provided police services for the City over the last 16 years, but we share the sacrifice that two sheriff’s deputies made in service to the citizens of southeast King County while serving out of Precinct 3. We are proud that a larger memorial will help King County residents pay homage to those deputies that have served us well and put their lives on the line for us.”
