Blue Mass honors fallen police officers amid increased targeting fears

Hundreds of officers from federal and local law enforcement agencies honored their fallen comrades at the 22nd annual Blue Mass in the District on Tuesday amid growing worries about officers being targeted in attacks and frustration with how the public views their role.

Concern that the backlash against police misconduct and killings has encouraged anti-police sentiments has led to calls by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) to do more to protect officers.

The union has pushed for years to expand federal hate crimes laws to also provide protections to law enforcement, and found some success this year with the introduction of the Blue Lives Matter Act by Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado Republican. The bill, which has 10 co-sponsors, would make an attack on a police officer a hate crime.

“There is a great deal of rhetoric and vitriol out there, and it hasn’t been challenged,” said Timothy Richardson, senior legislative liaison with the FOP.

At Tuesday’s Mass, which both Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and FBI Director James B. Comey attended, Monsignor Salvatore A. Criscuolo acknowledged during his homily that officers at times face criticism from citizens who do not understand their profession.

He sought to remind citizens who do not work in law enforcement about the sacrifices first responders and their families make every day and to emphasize that while officers may make mistakes, they are on the whole working to have a positive effect on their communities.

“You make so many sacrifices the citizens never hear about, never know about,” Monsignor Criscuolo said. “They need to be reminded, and you need to be thanked.”

The annual Blue Mass is traditionally held before the start of National Police Week, which draws upward of 25,000 visitors to the District as part of a series of events meant to honor fallen officers.

The bulk of this year’s police week events will be held next weekend, with the candlelight vigil for fallen officers held on the National Mall on May 13 and the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service held on May 15.

Data provided by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund shows 34 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty so far this year. A total of 124 officers were killed in 2015.

But while the number of overall law enforcement fatalities remains about even with the number recorded at this time last year — when there were 32 officer deaths — an increase in firearms-related deaths this year raises the possibility that officer deaths are increasingly the result of direct targeting.

As of Tuesday, half of this year’s deaths, or 17 fatalities, were firearms-related. The 17 deaths account for a 113 percent increase over the eight firearms-related deaths that were recorded as of this time last year.

One particularly deadly week in February saw six officers and deputies fatally shot in separate incidents in Georgia, North Dakota, Maryland, Oregon and Colorado and raised concern among police advocacy groups that officers were increasingly coming under attack.

According to the fund’s figures, six of the 17 firearms-related deaths were ambush-style attacks, five occurred in tactical situations such as barricades or high-risk entries, three happened during arrest attempts, and three came as officers were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances.

For families of fallen officers, the annual tradition at St. Patrick Catholic Church serves as a meaningful way to remember their loved ones while also acknowledging the ongoing sacrifices that others in the profession continue to make.

Among the 14 first responders who died last year and who were being honored at the Mass was Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta, who was struck and killed by a drunken driver during a DUI task force traffic stop.

“I think it is truly proper and fitting that we do recognize Noah and all these officers, not just the fallen, but also those who are out here every day so we can just go about our daily lives,” said Noah’s father, Richard Leotta. “They are out there every day knowing that they may not come home to their loved ones, but they still go out there. They love what they are doing. They want to protect and serve the public. I know my son definitely felt that way, believed that way, with all of his heart and soul.”

Federal and local law enforcement agencies honored 14 first responders who died last year, including Leotta, six Air Force service members killed in a suicide attack near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, a U.S. Marshal who was fatally shot while serving a search warrant and an ATF agent and a U.S. Marshal who both died of cancer linked to their responses to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

“I feel cleansed,” said Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Diane Groomes, emerging from the Mass. “I don’t care what faith you are, I think this just uplifts us and gives us a stronger belief in what we do.”