(BOP) - On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, the Bureau of Prisons paid tribute to the agency's 26 fallen heroes during a memorial service at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. This year, Correctional Officer Boyd H. Spikerman, who was killed in the line of duty on January 29, 1984 at FCI Oxford, was honored.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division John P. Cronan was the guest speaker and stated, "The Department of Justice recognizes that our country is safer today - and will be safer in the future - because of the many important contributions of our correctional officers and Bureau of Prisons employees.... Today we honor Officer Spikerman's memory, his life and his service to our country, and his loved ones. He is not forgotten, and he never will be. The poignancy of Officer Spikerman's loss more than three decades later is a reminder of the extraordinary debt we owe those who put their lives on the line to enforce our laws and uphold our justice system."
Following the Acting Assistant Attorney General's remarks, Director Mark S. Inch addressed the audience and said, "Each of you understand the dangers inherent to our work, and despite these dangers, you place the well-being of others, before yourselves, in order to answer the call to public service and to fulfill the mission of corrections... While we remain grateful that no Bureau staff have lost their life in the line of duty in the past five years, we honor those from other jurisdictions who were not so fortunate. And, we are mindful of those staff who have been seriously injured and we continue to hope for their full recoveries."
A large contingent of Central Office staff was in attendance in respectful remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
A highlight video of the ceremony will be posted as soon as it available.