WRAL Tower lights up blue to honor National Police Week

The view on Western Boulevard will look a little different this week, as the WRAL News tower lights up blue in honor of National Police Week.

WRAL is joining a number of other Raleigh locations in shining blue lights to salute police officers – so keep an eye out for other blue buildings and lights glowing in the downtown skyline. Notably, iconic buildings like the PNC Tower, The Dillon, the Wells Fargo Center and Wake Med Hospital will be blazing blue. The Village District, Midtown Park, Park Central and 301 Hillsborough Street are also joining the blue salute.

This week, the Raleigh Police Department Foundation will be offering a variety of public events to help the public celebrate and honor officers, who put themselves in harm's way each day and work to keep families safe. The events include:

• Flag banners honoring fallen heroes on the 300 block of Fayetteville Street
• North Hills Farmers' Market will host a meet and greet with local Raleigh police officers
• Mayoral proclamation presented to Chief Estella D. Patterson on May 16 at 10 a.m. in Capitol Square
• Charity shopping event honoring local law enforcement, with 10% of sales donated to the Raleigh Police Department Foundation on May 19, 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at MARTA's at North Hills

In addition to these events, there will be a series of jumbo-trons and billboards around Raleigh saluting our officers. Several businesses are donating gift cards and discounts to police, and one church from each district will provide lunch for their officers.

Monday, May 15 is also National Peace Officers Memorial Day, which specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. The Triangle has grieved the loss of multiple law enforcement officers in the past year – Wake Sheriff's Deputy Ned Byrd and Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres.

Thank you to our local officers

"Every day when law enforcement officers pin on their badges, they make an extraordinary commitment to the American people: to rush toward danger regardless of the risk and to faithfully stand up for the rule of law," wrote President Biden in a proclamation this year

This year, law enforcement has been called upon to respond to a surge in mass shootings – in the public as well as in schools. Local police responded bravely to tragedies like the one in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood.

In a year of unprecedented school shootings – and school threats – police have worked to protect our community's children.

Many officers have taken on extra hours pulling overtime to help cover staffing shortages in some departments to help ensure the community remains safe.

The first presidential proclamation of National Police Week and Peace Officers Memorial Day was in 1962. WRAL-TV is proud to now be part of this long-running tradition of honoring law enforcement.