APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Police week celebrations are getting underway in Northeast Wisconsin.
While the national observation does not start until Monday, Grand Chute Police has planned a Thursday candlelight vigil.
Officer Travis Waas helped organize the 5 pm event at Appleton Alliance Church.
“It allows us to honor those that obviously passed before us, who died in the line of duty, but also honor law enforcement, the service and sacrifice that it takes.”
Among those being remembered in Northeast Wisconsin are Fond du Lac Officer Craig Birkholz who was shot in 2011, State Trooper Trevor Casper who died in a 2015 shootout with a bank robber, and Everest Metro Police Detective Jason Weiland who was killed during a March shooting spree in the Wausau area.
With heightened tensions between police and civilians in many United States’ communities, Waas believes this year’s Police Week is especially important.
“With the negative light law enforcement has been shed in, this is a great way to show something positive, and for the community to come out and share this event with us. This is an opportunity for them to see us in a different light. We’re going to cast away the tough guy attitudes so they can see us as human beings.”
National Police Week runs May 15-22.
