Mayor Lorna Marquardt will issue a proclamation next week in honor of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on Friday and is asking the Shawano community to join the city in showing their support.
“There’s always been Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, and we’ve always tried to support the Police Department,” Marquardt said. “But this year I think more than ever, just because of what’s happening across the nation, I think it’s so important that our officers know we’re behind them.”
Marquardt’s proclamation will acknowledge the “recent negativity directed toward law enforcement nationally,” which has been fostered by incidents where African-Americans died at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York.
“There is a need to show law enforcement officers that our citizens recognize the difficult and sometimes impossible career they have chosen, in public service to us all,” the proclamation states.
Marquardt will read the proclamation at Wednesday’s Common Council meeting.
As a further show of support, council members will be wearing blue.
The city has also ordered decals showing support for law enforcement that will be available to residents free of charge at City Hall and the Police Department on Friday.
Marquardt said the city is also contacting local businesses that have marquees out front to see if they would be willing to put up a message in support of law enforcement.
The schools will also be contacted to see whether students might be interested in writing a letter of thanks to police.
“We want to make it a communitywide thing,” Marquardt said.
Police Chief Mark Kohl said the department has always appreciated the support shown by city officials and the community.
“There’s strong support from the council and the police and fire commission,” he said. “The city council has never wavered on their belief that the citizens should be safe and, if there’s a sound reason for it, they will allocate tax dollars to pay for it. I don’t know of any other city that has been so supportive.”
Kohl said he has been hearing a lot of kudos from the public, but noted it is the public’s support that makes the department successful.
“If we’re doing something right, it’s not just us,” he said. “You’ll never find a police department that does it all by themselves. It’s the community.”
He said that support means a lot to the officers.
“They love working for the city. They love the citizens and the community here,” Kohl said.
National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is being promoted by FBI National Academy Associates Inc. in partnership with other agencies.
Kohl said the effort is an important reminder of law enforcement’s role in the community.
“These type of things really acknowledge and press upon the point that the police, public safety, fire are vital components of our quality of life,” he said.
The Shawano Common Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St.
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