National Police Week – U.S. flag at half-staff May 15

National Police Week — May 11-17 — pays tribute to U.S. law enforcement officers who serve every day and honors those who have died in the line of duty.

Events in behalf of these individuals will be held in Washington, DC.

On the evening of Tuesday, May 13, the 26th Annual Candlelight Vigil will be held at National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. All newly etched names on the memorial will be read aloud.

May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day. A wreath-laying ceremony will follow a memorial service on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. U.S. flags at Post Offices should be flown at half-staff May 15 in honor of fallen officers and their families.

Among the law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty are 14 members of the Postal Inspection Service [list below]. Postal Inspectors — who belong to one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies — protect employees, consumers and the U.S. mail from criminal attack and misuse.

Fallen Officers

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service wishes to commemorate the U.S. Postal Inspectors and Postal Police Officers, shown below, who have died in the line of duty. Their names have been etched on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall and to a Postal Inspection Service plaque at the agency’s national headquarters, both located in Washington, DC.

At each entry below, the panel and wall number are provided to show where each officer’s name appears on the memorial wall. Read more about the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

PRESTON B. PARNELL
Postal Inspector
Birmingham, AL
Date of Death: 7/26/2012
Panel 44-E, 28

ROBERT F. JONES, JR.
Postal Inspector
Washington, DC
Date of Death: 7/14/2000
Panel 36, W-22

TERRANCE M. ASBURY
Postal Inspector
Los Angeles, CA
Date of Death: 2/3/1990
Panel 54, E -17

MICHAEL J. HEALY
Postal Police Officer
Chicago, IL
Date of Death: 6/21/1981
Panel 64, E -2

BENEDETTO M. SPIZZIRRI
Investigative Aide
Chicago, IL
Date of Death: 3/14/1960
Panel 58, E -9

JOHN P. MCAULIFFE 
Investigative Aide
Chicago, IL
Date of Death: 3/14/1960
Panel 2, W -11

BRUCE O. SHAFFER
Post Office Inspector
Poplar Bluff, MO
Date of Death: 8/31/1951
Panel 16, E -6

ERNEST M. HARKINS
Post Office Inspector
Oklahoma City, OK
Date of Death: 1/12/1949
Panel 16, E -6

FINTON T. MCMAHON 
Postal Inspector
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Washington, DC
Date of Death: 8/1/1939
Panel 52, W-26

WALTER R. TON 
Post Office Inspector
Bozeman, MT
Date of Death: 1/10/1938
Panel 20, W-25

LEVI C. CHANCE
Post Office Inspector
Savannah, GA
Date of Death: 2/14/1923
Panel 20, W-25

GEORGE W. DANIEL
Postal Inspector in Charge
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Washington, DC
Date of Death: 9/1/1919
Panel 27, W-26

ELBERT P. LAMBERTH 
Post Office Inspector
Stantonville, TN
Date of Death: 8/17/1917
Panel 57, E -23

CHARLES FITZGERALD
Post Office Inspector
Clinton, MS
Date of Death: 9/23/1909
Panel 34, E -2

Please Note: To view photos of the fallen officers listed above click here.