BEAUMONT, Texas — In honor of National Peace Officers Memorial Day, Beaumont Police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice were honored at the annual Beaumont Police Memorial Ceremony Wednesday morning.
When officers are sworn in, they make a promise to serve and protect their community, even while in life-threatening situations. National Officers Memorial Day honors brave men and women who died in the line of duty.
"We're committed to making sure that the families of our fallen officers know that their sacrifice does not go unnoticed," said Beaumont Police Officer Haley Morrow.
The memorial ceremony gave loved ones and colleagues of fallen officers a chance to connect.
Family, police officers and community members gathered on the steps of the Beaumont Police Department to honor officers who died in the line of duty.
12News spoke with Tyler Powell, the husband of fallen Beaumont Police Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell. Flowers were placed alongside memorials in honor of the fallen officers.
"Every year we always bring sun flowers because that's Sheena's favorite flower," said Tyler Powell.
Officer Yarbrough-Powell was one of the fallen heroes, of many, who was honored at the ceremony.
"It's a good symbol of who she was," said Powell. "A bright light everything's attracted to her."
Powell attends the police memorial even every year as a way to remember and honor his wife.
"It's just a way for me to remember Sheena. And so, um, for them I'd say, for the fallen officers and everyone else just, just think of them and go look at a picture, don't let it just be a face," he said. "It's something as simple as that. Just remembering them means a lot to us as the family."
Officer Yarbrough-Powell was killed in the line of duty in 2020 when her patrol vehicle was hit by an intoxicated driver who was driving the wrong way.
She was 23-years-old at the time and had been married for 10 months.
"We remember Sheena, every single day and I like to say, I now live this life for her," said Powell. "And then I tried to make her proud."
The memorial ceremony was concluded with a three-volley salute as a solemn reminder of the men and women in blue who put their lives on the line every day.
"We want to make sure that we keep these officers memories alive, because they made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty," said Officer Morrow.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.