CINCINNATI -- Hundreds gathered to pay their respects to fallen members of Cincinnati's police force in the annual police memorial parade Tuesday morning with a special focus on Officer Sonny Kim, who died last June from three shots in an ambush on a Madisonville street.
The parade began on Fountain Square and proceeded to the police memorial on Ezzard Charles Drive just across from the District One headquarters where the memorial stands, bearing Kim's name.
The ceremony at the memorial included a rendition of "Taps," a flyover and a 21-gun salute. Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac presented a posthumous medal of valor for Kim to his wife, Jessica. The Cincinnati Honor Guard laid a wreath at the memorial as well.
"You get stunned. It’s like a loss in the family because we are family. Losing Sonny was like losing a brother, and that’s the way we all feel about it," said Sgt. Dan Hils, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police.
This more-than-50-year-old tradition not only honors those lost in the line of duty, but it serves as a chance for police to reach out to the community. Each district plans to hold an open house for the public to meet their neighborhood officers and learn about K-9 and SWAT units.
The schedule for open houses at the districts is as follows:
- District One and Central Business District: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday
- District Three: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
- District Four: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday
- District Five: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday
See the website here for further details.
Remembering our own at tomorrow's Police Memorial Ceremony/Parade. Fountain Square @ 11am. https://t.co/Iixk3kSaiF pic.twitter.com/BFqQXujuRH
— Cincinnati Police (@CincinnatiPD) May 9, 2016
