Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Ceremony honors law enforcement officers killed in line of duty

CARSON CITY — At a service honoring law enforcement, Gov. Brian Sandoval called officers heroes always ready to “make the supreme sacrifice” to protect the public.

Sandoval was the keynote speaker Thursday at the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial ceremony, which drew several hundred people.

A monument has the names of 123 officers who have died in the line of duty. Retired Police Chief Mike Mayberry of Henderson said no officer has been killed in the last year.

The ceremony this year specifically honored three officers who died in the line of duty.

They were Carson City Police Officer Vernon Carvin, who died in 1949 while struggling with a suspect; Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Glenn Barnes, whoi died during a physical conditioning test in 1991; and Elko County Sheriff’s Deputy Denny Van Lawrence, who was shot by a murder suspect near Jackpot and was disabled until his death in 2012.

In addition, a tree was planted on the Capitol grounds to honor late Washoe County District Attorney and state Sen. Bill Raggio, who was described as a friend of law enforcement.

The first law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty in Nevada was Territorial Sheriff John Blackburn, who was stabbed to death in 1861 by a suspect in Carson City.

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