Bagpipes and beating drums echoed through the streets of downtown Concord as about 100 law enforcement officers marched down North State Street, their boots hitting the pavement in rhythm.

A hush fell over the crowd as Kraig Emery, a sergeant of the Merrimack County Department of Corrections, stepped up to the microphone near the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officer Memorial, located on the grounds behind the State House. He began to recite a poem.

“The time has now come for this one week a year, when we all stop to think, when we all shed a tear,” Emery said, “for all the heroes whose names grace the wall, and for all those heroes who still answer the call.”

The solemn ceremony, complete with the playing of “Taps” and “Amazing Grace” by the New Hampshire Police Association Pipes and Drums, a performance of the national anthem by Merrimack Valley High School students, speeches and prayers, marked Law Enforcement Memorial Week on Friday, honoring those who’ve died in the line of duty. Several hundred officers friends, family members and lawmakers attended.

Sandy Fontana, a Bow resident, came to support her son, a retired New Hampshire State Police officer who now plays in the state police association’s pipes and drums.

“I came to see him and feel him,” Fontana said, tearing up. Other members of her family worked in law enforcement alongside several officers who were honored at the service, she said.

The names of 55 officers from around the state are etched into the stone memorial in front of the Legislative Office Building. People watched in silence as Attorney General John Formella read out the names of each one, dating back to 1886. The most recent, Lawrence Prather, was a corrections officer who died in Concord in 2023.

For each one, family members were escorted to the front of the crowd to place a single flower onto a wreath.

Some paused to survey it for a moment, while others saluted. For those who had no family present, members of their respective police departments performed the honors.

New Hampshire’s members of Congress and several state lawmakers attended the service.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte was a former New Hampshire attorney general who prosecuted the man who shot and killed Manchester police officer Michael Briggs. She called on attendees to never forget those who lost their lives in the line of duty or the family and friends they left behind.

“The selfless service of the officers whose names are etched on this memorial will forever be a part of New Hampshire’s history. May their memories continue to inspire us,” Ayotte said. “Let them guide us and remind us what the true meaning of service and sacrifice is.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmathe rly@cmonitor.com.