The memorial relay ends Thursday afternoon with the baton arriving at the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Carson City.
Photo by Duke Ritenhouse.
Pictures from the 2023 Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial ceremony on Thursday, May 4 in Carson City.
Law enforcement officers arriving by foot in Carson City on Wednesday afternoon signaled the end of an eight-day journey known as the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Run.
In its 23rd year, the run started at the law enforcement memorial in Las Vegas and ended at the law enforcement memorial at the Capitol Complex in Carson City. The run covered nearly 450 miles, with participants carrying a baton (with names of fallen officers inside) a certain distance before handing it off.
A ceremony at the Capitol memorial was slated for 1 p.m. Thursday. Nine more names would be added to the memorial wall, stemming from the last two years, according to Sparks Police Department Deputy Chief Tara Edmonson.
Edmonson coordinated the run in the northern part of the state.
“It’s representative of the law enforcement profession itself, our dedication to the community,” she told the Appeal.
Edmonson said the scroll inside the baton carried the names of 152 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in Nevada. She said the journey provides the opportunity for reflection and remembrance, both for present-day officers and kin of those fallen. It also draws those in the profession closer, she said.
“It’s intended to help further the bonds of our profession,” she said. “We have each other regardless of whether or not we know each other.”
Edmonson hopes members of the public who saw the run, even if negatively affected by traffic, will appreciate its significance.
“That’s what this is for, to bring awareness to who we are and what we do,” she said. “People are willing to give their lives to do it.”
Runners from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office relay team pose in front of the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Carson City on Wednesday. (Duke Ritenhouse photo)Brian Thomas, public information officer for the North Las Vegas Police Department, was part of the honor guard rehearsing at the Capitol on Wednesday, preparing for Thursday’s ceremony.
“It’s to honor and remember the fallen heroes,” he said of the event. “We need to remember these guys. We need to honor them. This is one way to help honor that. It brings all of our brothers and sisters in law enforcement together from Northern and Southern Nevada.”
Days before, Thomas participated in a leg of the memorial run from North Las Vegas.
“This is my first year attending the memorial here within the honor guard,” he said. “I’m seeing officers from all different agencies throughout Nevada. I’m learning new names, seeing new faces, building new friendships.”
He said law enforcement sometimes deals with the worst situations in a community, and some officers end up making the ultimate sacrifice.
“Events like this that memorialize and honor these officers — so they’re never forgotten — help instill what we do and the importance of what we do,” he said.
Capt. Michelle Tavarez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department ran back-to-back legs for more than 7 miles in memory of officers Igor Soldo and Alyn Beck.
“I was in the academy with Igor, and Beck was my training officer,” said Tavarez. “We run to keep our friends’ memories alive. The run is therapy for us, and it’s a very public way to remind the community of our loss.”