Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument Honors Those Fallen

Beauty and honor were truly on display at the recent unveiling of the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument. On July 27, hundreds gathered to pay their respects to over 500 law enforcement officers from across the state of Michigan who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The monument – named “Sentinel” and designed by David Milling of David Milling & Associates/Architects – features “10 sentinels standing vigil over the memories of those lost” gracefully near the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

The unveiling ceremony was “beautiful and extremely pleasing,” Detroit Police Department Officer Glenn Doss recalled. Doss lost his son, Glenn Doss Jr., in 2018. My son was approaching two years of being an officer,” he says. “It was an honor to have his name etched in stone but (we) must stop the violence. We need more fathers to be involved, we need more male role models.”

The monument is a result of the work of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument Fund, commissioned in 2004. The names of each fallen officer, along with their departments, are engraved in glossy metal panels that glow at dusk.

The state’s website says the panels will “provide a sense of strength and stability due to their scale while allowing security and visibility of the adjacent Vietnam Memorial.” Since 2016, nine DPD officers have lost their lives protecting and serving their communities. This public display of reverence is our opportunity to say “thank you.”