Notice flags at half-staff today? Here’s why

Yes, state and U.S. flags were at half-staff today, May 15. Here’s why:

May 15 is Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 12 through 18 is Police Week, and President Joe Biden issued a proclamation directing states to fly flags at half-staff on May 15 to honor fallen law enforcement officers and peace officers.

Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day are not new. The proclamation mentions that a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat. 676), and by Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.”

“I call upon all Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities and salute our Nation’s brave law enforcement officers and remember their peace officer brothers and sisters who have given their last full measure of devotion in the line of duty,” Biden wrote in a proclamation. “I also call on the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.”

Fallen trooper: New Jersey State Police trooper dies during training

Biden’s proclamation stated that “every day, police officers pin on their shields and walk out the door, rushing into harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe. Being a police officer is more than what they do — it is who they are. On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we recognize the incredible courage of our Nation’s police officers and honor the fallen heroes, whose ultimate sacrifice we can never repay.

In New Jersey, flags were also flying at half-staff on May 14. Gov. Phil Murphy said on his X account, that he had ordered New Jersey and American flags at half-staff that day in honor of a fallen New Jersey State Police trooper.

Trooper II Marcellus E. Bethea, an eight-year veteran assigned to Troop D at the Moorestown station on the New Jersey Turnpike, died on May 5 at a training facility at the New Jersey State Police headquarters in Ewing. Bethea was training to join the elite TEAMS Unit 1. His funeral services were being held on May 14 and May 15 in Bordentown.

“Today I signed an Executive Order directing that all U.S. and New Jersey flags be flown at half-staff on Wednesday to honor Trooper Marcellus E. Bethea. Tammy and I send our deepest condolences to Trooper Bethea's family, friends, and his fellow troopers,” Murphy announced.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Flags are at half-staff around the country on May 15. Why?