NC Department of Adult Correction honors fallen heroes, Charlotte officers at memorial
The state Department of Adult Correction (DAC) held its annual memorial ceremony Wednesday morning to honor fallen heroes in Raleigh.
A permanent memorial reading "duty, sacrifice and honor" sits in front of the Randall building on West Morgan Street in downtown Raleigh. It pays tribute to fallen heroes who worked in the Department of Correction.
On Wednesday, the DAC took additional time to reflect on those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Governor Roy Cooper spoke at Wednesday morning’s memorial ceremony.
"One thing I think these fallen officers would want us to do is to strongly advocate for and support the officers that they left behind," Cooper said at the ceremony. "They would want us to pursue better pay, training and equipment."
This comes just more than a week after a Charlotte shooting that killed four police officers, including two department employees with the DAC – Samuel "Sam" Poloche and William "Alden" Elliot.
Stephanie Freeman, with the Department of Adult Correction, also spoke at the event.
"The timing of it has been difficult," she said. "I think the great thing though about this department is we've rallied around each other. We've come together as a family.
"Despite being dealt tragedy, I think that spirit that unifies the department, I think unifies all of us. Rallying together in times of crisis is the most important thing we can do."
