President Trump lit up the White House in blue to honor police officers killed in the line of duty for a second time Wednesday.
The special illumination was for Peace Officers Memorial Day, an annual observance first designated in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. The memorial day falls in the middle of Police Week, which draws thousands of police officers from around the country to the capital. The weeklong series of events includes memorial services and a candlelight vigil, a 5K race, a conference for the families of fallen officers, and an honor guard competition, among other events.
Tonight, the White House was lit in blue in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day. pic.twitter.com/Tv9nAn5M2G
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 16, 2019
Trump earlier ordered the blue lighting for the police memorial day in 2017, a month after he marked World Autism Awareness Day with blue illumination of the White House.
President Barack Obama, who famously displayed a rainbow of lights across the White House to celebrate the Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in 2015, turned down a request by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation to light the White House with blue lights the following year to memorialize the victims of a Dallas shooting that targeted white police officers. Obama instead ordered flags to be flown half-staff.
Army reserve veteran Micah Xavier Johnson killed five officers in the incident, which left nine other officers and two civilians wounded, before being killed by a police robot.
