Minnesota fallen officers among those honored during National Police Week memorial service
Several Minnesota police officers killed in the line of duty were remembered during a memorial service in Washington D.C. Thursday morning.
The memorial service is part of the National Police Week, an event which brings law enforcement and families together to pay homage to those killed. This year, roughly 350 fallen police officers will be memorialized.
Minnesota officers include Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, who were shot and killed in February 2024 along with firefighter paramedic Adam Finseth.
Their names were read aloud during Police Week in D.C. and their names will forever be engraved on the National Police Memorial Wall.
"When someone harms a police officer you could just imagine what they would do to a citizen if they weren't stopped. And so every story, every person here has a story of courage in the face of danger," said Kevin Rofidal with the Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police
Other Minnesota officers being remembered include Jesse Branch, of Red Lake Nation Police; National Park Service Ranger Kevin Grossheim; and Minneapolis Police Officer Jamal Mitchell.
The 101 Market and Garden Center raised funds to help send the families of Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth — as well as the entire Burnsville Police Department — to D.C. to attend the memorial.
The officers' names were also read aloud during a candlelight vigil Tuesday on the National Mall.
"It is just a really powerful and moving thing, and you could see the emotion in people's eyes," Burnsville Police Dep. Chief Matt Smith said. "We've been waiting a long time for this week and this event to honor Matt and Paul and Adam."
Finseth was honored in early May as part of National Firefighter Memorial Weekend.
