National Police Week ceremonies in D.C. postponed until October
Mar. 20—National Police Week ceremonies in Washington, D.C., have been postponed until the fall due to an inability to secure permits for in-person gatherings due to COVID-19, according to the event's organizers.
National Police Week, held every year May 11-16, honors police officers across the U.S. who have been killed in the line of duty. The ceremonies will now take place Oct. 13-17.
The Grand Forks Police Department had planned to send roughly 40 officers to D.C. in May for National Police Week to honor Officer Cody Holte, who was killed in the line of duty last May. GFPD Lt. Derik Zimmel said the department still intends to send those officers to D.C. in the fall.
Holte, 29, was killed by gunfire on May 27, while responding to a call for help from two Grand Forks County Sheriff's deputies who were being fired upon by an active shooter after attempting to enforce an eviction notice. Holte, a three-year member of the Grand Forks Police Department and a member of the North Dakota National Guard, left behind a wife and an infant son.
Salamah Pendleton, 42, the alleged shooter, is set to go to trial in June.
Holte is the fourth Grand Cities officer to be killed in the line of duty in the cities' shared history.
Henry Halverson, a Grand Forks County Sheriff's deputy, was killed on March 9, 1952, in a head-on collision while transporting a prisoner to the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Two other people in the vehicle were injured.
Grand Forks Police officer Robert Martin was killed on Oct. 12, 1966, when his motorcycle struck the rear fender of a car turning into a driveway. He died at the hospital following the accident, and a plaque honoring him him can still be seen at the Grand Forks Police Department.
East Grand Forks Police Officer Kenneth Olson, 25, was killed on July 19, 1978, responding to a call of a potential prowler. He was shot and killed instantly by the man who made the call, who lived at the residence. The man pleaded temporary insanity and never went to trial, and instead spent several weeks at the Fergus Falls State Hospital before being released.
Although National Police Week ceremonies in D.C. were postponed, at least one local group still plans to honor Holte this spring. The American Legion Post 6 announced it will honor Holte with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 19, at the Grand Forks Veterans Memorial Park. The American Legion posthumously named Holte the Officer of the Year for North Dakota last month.
