WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVF) — Fallen Brentwood police officer, Destin Legieza, was honored Thursday night at a candlelight vigil for law enforcement being held in Washington, D.C.
Thursday's 33rd annual vigil was hosted by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Eastern) at the National Mall.
Watch the full ceremony below:
According to the NLEOMF, 701 new names on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial are being dedicated during the vigil. That number includes 434 who died in 2019 and 2020. The total number of officers killed in the line of duty who are memorialized there is now 22,611.
Legieza died on June 18, 2020, when a driver on the wrong side of the road - north in the southbound lanes - collided head-on with his patrol car in Brentwood. The driver who hit him, Ashley Kroese, had a blood alcohol level of .166, according to an affidavit.
Legieza was the first officer in the 50-year history of the Brentwood Police Department to be killed in the line of duty. Kroese is charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication.
In addition to Legieza, seven other officers from Tennessee are being honored at the vigil. Their names and respective end-of-watch dates are below.
- James O'Riddle, Hamilton County - April 19, 1935
- Lon Rains, Hamilton County - December 23, 1905
- Oscar Leonard Nance, Hamilton County - September 22, 1912
- Francis Marion Alford, James County - July 4, 1912
- Bobby Rodriguez Montgomery, Memphis - August 16, 2020
- Anthony Terrance Jackson Sr., Shelby County - December 25, 2020
- Jeremy DeVaughn Smith, Shelby County - April 21. 2020
More information on the 33rd annual candlelight vigil honoring fallen police officers is available on the NLEOMF website.
