Next month, Forest Lawn Cemetery in High Point (whose HQ is shown in Google Street View above) will be the scene of West Seattle’s annual Memorial Day service (2 pm 5/25). But a few weeks before that event, another ceremony will bring community members and dignitaries to Forest Lawn – to commemorate the start of a process that will create a new memorial in honor of fallen police officers (the Seattle Police Department‘s list, dating back to the 1800s, can be seen here). Here’s the announcement from Dave Salove, general manager of Forest Lawn Cemetery:

On Friday May 1, 2009, at 12 Noon, we, along with leaders and officers of the Seattle Police as well as the community at large, will dedicate a site in Forest Lawn Cemetery where a memorial to these fallen officers will be placed. The Seattle Police Memorial will be designed and built over the next year for unveiling and dedication at the 2010 ceremony during National Police Week 2010. We are working to include active police and community leaders and residents to be involved in the creation and dedication of this memorial.

There is a Police Officer Memorial at Olympia for the state and another at the Police Academy in Burien representing various departments. There is, however, no specific memorial honoring Seattle Police officers in our city that recognizes the sacrifice of those officers who have died in the line of duty.

As the announcement notes, the memorial is not yet designed; Salove says “the design will be determined based on the number of names and final design selections that are made as a committee is formally formed. Our intention was to get this ball rolling, dedicate a site for placement, and work over the next year to promote, create and build the memorial which I envision to be very substantial. I will be working with various people in the community and looking for input from the community about this memorial.” He says Forest Lawn is donating the space for the memorial, adding, “We hope to fundraise over the next year to pay for the memorial itself … We will be forming a committee to administrate the memorial as well as the fund that will be created to care for it over time, repair etc.” (If the fundraising campaign falls short, Salove says, FL will step in to help with that as well.)

According to the Police Department’s online list, the most recent SPD death in the line of duty in West Seattle was that of Officer Dorian Halvorson, shot and killed in September 1976 during his 8th year of SPD service, while responding to a call in the 9200 block of 17th SW. SPD’s downtown HQ has an indoor Memorial Wall paying tribute to Officer Halvorson and the department’s other fallen officers.