WASHINGTON — Nestled in between Capitol Hill and downtown Washington D.C. sits a more than 300-foot-long limestone wall with more than 23,000 names carved on it.
Each one represents a fallen officer killed in the line of duty and new names are added each year during National Police Week.
This year, 619 new names were added from deaths in 2021 and from previous years including Memphis Police Officer Darrell Adams.
Adams was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer in October 2021.
His family and fellow officers traveled to the nation’s capital in his memory.
“He was a very good officer,” said Memphis Police Lt. Marcus Frierson. “One of my best officers. It’s left a huge loss that we’ll never be able to overcome.”
“He treated my daughter like a queen, and I thank God for him,” said Margaret Banks, Adams’ mother-in-law.
Quinterious Adams, 14, is Adams’ nephew and also made the trip to Washington D.C.
He described his uncle as a father figure in his life.
The teen’s goal now is to make his uncle proud.
“My uncle, he tried to raise me right,” said Quinterious Adams. “Trying to be successful in life. That’s all he wanted for me. I just want to fulfill his dream he had for me and I really thank him for taking me in when I was younger.”
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 472 officers were killed on the job in the U.S. in 2021 and 319 of those deaths were COVID-19 related.
“We’re the leading authority on line-of-duty deaths,” said Marcia Ferranto, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “It’s interesting to talk to some of the survivors. Some of them feel as though getting here is like the final step for them, although it will probably never be final, but it provides some closure. Others come every year.”
Anyone interested in donating to the national police memorial can find out more information here.