Minnesota officers killed in the line of duty honored in Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of police officers and their families from Minnesota are in Washington, D.C. for National Police Week to honor those recently killed in the line of duty.
The names of nearly 350 fallen officers from across the U.S.— including five from Minnesota — were read aloud at a candlelight vigil Tuesday on the National Mall.
"It is just a really powerful and moving thing, and you could see the emotion in people's eyes," Burnsville Police Dep. Chief Matt Smith told WCCO News. "We've been waiting a long time for this week and this event to honor Matt and Paul and Adam."
Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, along with firefighter paramedic Adam Finseth, were shot and killed in February 2024. Other Minnesota officers being remembered include Jesse Branch, of Red Lake Nation Police; National Park Service Ranger Kevin Grossheim; and Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell.
"The pomp and circumstance is just incredible," Smith explained. "And it's all done to honor the fallen and to show the family members that are still here that they won't be forgotten and we're going to take care of them."
Kevin Rofidal, a retired Edina police sergeant who now sits on the Fraternal Order of Police Foundation board, told WCCO News the trip to D.C. includes a full itinerary and a memorial service on May 15 at 11 a.m.
"The second piece of it is there is some therapeutics and being around families and other survivors that have experienced something similar," Rofidel told WCCO News before the delegation departed. "We've learned a lot. We've learned a lot because of suicides in police, with survivors and PTSD, and it's finally being addressed."
