Police memorial dedicated

Each year, family members of Southern Nevada's fallen law enforcement gather to remember their loved ones.

It is a somber annual event, with bagpipes, a police honor guard and candles.

It is an event that the family of officer James Manor will now mark on their calendars annually.

On Thursday night, thousands of officers, family members and community members honored the 23 fallen federal and local officers who served in Southern Nevada, from the death of Union Pacific night watchman Joe Mulholland in 1905 to Manor's death on May 7.

"Policing is a proud profession. Policing is an honorable profession. Policing is a dangerous profession," Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said.

Las Vegas Valley police chiefs and public officials dedicated to the fallen officers a towering memorial at Police Memorial Park, 3250 Metro Academy Way near Cheyenne Avenue and the Las Vegas Beltway.

Inside a vault in the base of the memorial are 44 bolts, two for each of the officers who have died, including FBI Agent John Bailey in 1990 and Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Robert McGuire in 1961.

Two more bolts -- Manor's -- have yet to be included.

The bolts are engraved with each officer's initials and their date of death.

Before the dedication, the names of each of the fallen were read. Their family members stood up and were escorted to a table where they lit a candle in their honor.

For those who had no family present, officers lit candles in their honor.

Manor's recent death was heavy in the air. The mood was especially still when the family of the 28-year-old officer went to light his candle.

On Wednesday, police disclosed that Manor was driving 109 mph on Flamingo Road moments before he collided with a pickup while en route to a domestic violence call. He did not have his lights and siren on, police said.

Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown, who as a city councilman was instrumental in getting the funding and donations for the memorial, said those who criticize law enforcement are "very wrong," and that police make up the foundation of society.

The memorial features three towers representing federal, state and local law enforcement. A silver eagle clutches a shield in its talons. A "thin blue line" marks the base.

Local artist Adolfo Gonzalez said he presented several ideas to officials and they liked the current design best.

"They didn't want to see any more pieces of someone down. They wanted something different," the 44-year-old artist said.

"It's a very big honor," he said.

On the front of the memorial is a plaque noting the artist and the date of the dedication. It reads: "It is not how they died that we remember them. It is how they lived their lives."

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.