Memorial service to honor fallen Raleigh police officers

A memorial service on Monday will remember two officers from the Raleigh Police Department who lost their lives in the line of duty on Dec. 5, 1968.

On this day almost 50 years ago, officers James "Jimmy" Wade Allen and James Gale Lee had been dispatched to check in with another officer. They were killed while responding to that call when their patrol car was hit by another car and pushed into a utility pole.

Allen had been with the police department for two years; Lee for four years.

Monday's ceremony will take place at noon at the Raleigh Police Memorial at 222 West Hargett Street, and the public is invited to attend.

The $500,000 memorial, which honors eight Raleigh police officers killed in the line of duty, spans a half block and wrap around the corner in front of the Raleigh Municipal Building on West Hargett Street.

"It will be something we can see and we can share with our friends and with the community," said Melissa Hogan, Allen's niece.