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Crime & Safety

Wisconsin Officers Among Those Honored at National Police Memorial This Week

A final roll call for police officers from around the country, including Officer Donald Bishop of the Brookfield PD, will take place Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

By Todd Richissin

Tens of thousands of law officers from the United States and beyond its shores are gathering in Washington for National Police Week, part of an annual pilgrimage to honor the fallen among their ranks.

The focal point for the week is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, a courtyard bordered by two gently sloping, 304-foot-long, three-foot-high walls that bear the engraved names of more than 19,000 officers killed in the line of duty.

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Most of the names added this year are officers who died in 2013; others are officers whose sacrifice previously had been lost to history.

This year, 286 names were added to the wall, including two from Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, 271 officers lost their lives while wearing a badge.

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Added to the wall this year are:

Donald Bishop, Town of Brookfield Police Department, who suffered a fatal heart attack in April 2013 while responding to a burglary call. Bishop resided in Waukesha.

Bernhardt Brattlie, Dane County Sheriff's Department, who was killed in a motorcycle crash after his motorcycle experienced a mechanical issue and swerved into the path of another vehicle.

National Police Week is an annual event in Washington, DC, a week of color guards and sad salutes, of help for surviving families and the promise to, as an engraving on part of the wall implores, "Respect. Honor. Remember."

On Tuesday, thousands will gather at the memorial for a candle-light vigil, where names will be read in a final roll call for the fallen. Taps will sound and officers and their families will gather to touch the names on the walls, to lay wreaths and flowers, and to remember.

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