Published in the May 20, 2016 edition
MELROSE — This is a week to honor police.
Monday night, Ward 2 Alderman Jennifer Lemmerman introduced a resolution at the Board of Aldermen meeting recognizing National Police Week, which is observed on May 15-21.
This year, the name of University of Colorado Police Officer Garrett Swasey — a 1989 graduate of Melrose High — was one of 252 names added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and his sacrifice was honored at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s 28th Annual Candlelight Vigil.
Swasey, 44, was shot and killed responding to a shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Nov. 27. He was one of three people killed during the shootings. Last week his killer was determined to be incompetent to stand trial.
Swasey was a Melrose native who went to school with many city residents, including Mayor Robert J. Dolan. He moved to Colorado not long after graduation to pursue a competitive figure skating career.
The aldermen’s resolution said, in part, read:
BE IT RESOLVED the City of Melrose is committed to continuing to honor Officer Swasey’s memory and the loss felt by his family, friends, and colleagues.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Melrose Board of Aldermen formally designates May 15th through 21st, 2016 as Police Week in the City of Melrose, and publicly salutes those men and women who have committed their lives to public safety in our community and in communities across the nation on this Fifteenth day of May, Two Thousand Sixteen.
Lemmerman’s brother, MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, was killed in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
The Ward 2 alderman said, “I was touched that so many members of the Melrose Police Department came to the meeting to show their support. We truly do appreciate their willingness to risk their lives for us every day.”
