Peoria Police Memorial honors fallen officers
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Peoria city officials and police gathered outside downtown to remember those who have served in law enforcement.
The Peoria Police Department hosted their annual police memorial outside of city hall, in which they take the time to remember fallen officers.
'We don't want to forget that every day officers come in and put this uniform on,' said Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria. 'So let's not forget what they do. Let's not forget what happened in the past. We stand on their shoulders and we continue to push forward to keep our community safe.'
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15 roses were laid on the memorial stone to honor fallen Peoria officers. Echevarria explained the kind of unity all law enforcement share.
'You don this uniform on,' he said. 'Some of the uniforms may be green, some of them may be tan, some of them are blue. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're all police officers trying to do the right thing for a community. It's a very difficult job.'
This is a part of National Police Week, where departments across the country take part in the same type of memorial.
An awards ceremony followed the memorial service which included categories such as Livesaving, Chief's Appreciation, and Distinguished Service – Commissioned.
Award winners included:
2024 Rookie of the Year
Officer Terravis Ward
2024 Field Training Officer of the Year
Officer Michael Wallace
2024 Supervisor of the Year
Sergeant Todd Leach
2025 American Legion Meritorious Service
Detective Brian Grice
2024 Officer of the Year
Detective Nicholas Mason
2024 Lifesaving Awards:
Officer Logan Jackson
Officer Matthew Prest
Officer Gavin Watland
Officer Zion Whitehurst
Officer Jia Zheng
Officer Bryson Zolicoffer
2024 Civilian of the Year
Mary Peterson
2024 Chief's Appreciation
Assistant State's Attorney Terrence Muench
Deputy Coroner Brandon Witt
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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