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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — “It’s not how these officers died that made them heroes, it’s how they lived,” that was the message portrayed Tuesday during the Pikeville Law Enforcement Appreciation Ceremony.
In conjunction of National Police Week, the Pikeville Police Department hosts an officer appreciation ceremony each year at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville.
The event is to remember those officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and to show appreciation to those officers who are currently serving and those who have previously served.
“I want to leave them with a thought of hope,” said keynote speaker Leslie Gannon. “I center that around the acronym H.O.P.E. – having an officer presence everywhere – and that ties in to the ripple effect. Through these officers who have given the ultimate sacrifice and given service of self, that ripple effect continues through out their families, friends, colleagues, and that is holding on to that hope that these folks have and that we will have in the future.”
During Tuesday’s ceremony, the names of every fallen officer in Pike County were read aloud and Pikeville Police Officer Scotty Hamilton’s name was read for the very first time.
“Scotty would love everything that this community has done for him,” said Scotty Hamilton’s sister-in-law Lauren Thacker. “He didn’t just lay his life down for anyone, he laid it down for the City of Pikeville. He loved everyone in it.”
The event ended with a moment of silence and prayer at the Pike County Fallen Officers Memorial.