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'We need to remember them': New memorial wall unveiled at day of remembrance for fallen officers

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A new memorial was unveiled Sunday at the Alberta Legislature, as families and colleagues gathered to pay homage to Albertans who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Since 1876, 101 police and peace officers were killed in the line of duty.

A monument honouring them, the Pillar of Strength, was unveiled on the legislature's south lawn in 2006. Sunday, for the 24th annual Alberta's Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Day, a new memorial was revealed outside of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General's office.

Inspired by the Pillar of Strength, and designed by Calgary Sgt. Jason Hiscock, the new memorial wall bears the names of the 101 fallen officers.

The annual reading of the names is a moment Chris Young, Alberta Federation of Police Associations president, said is always emotional for him. It's a time to pay tribute to the officers and the people who love them.

"It's important to realize the sacrifice made, not only by our members or our officers, but by their families. It's a calling to be a police officer, and it's a profession that the whole family sacrifices for," Young said.

His friend and colleague, Sgt. Andrew Harnett, was killed in 2020. Freedom isn't always free, said Young, and it's important to remember that public safety comes at a cost.

"It's a horrible tragic thing when someone loses their life for others, protecting them, protecting our society, and we need to remember them," he said. "We need to."

Leslie Lukawy was one of the visitors Sunday to lay a wreath at Sunday's ceremony. Her sister, Cst. Christine Diotte, was killed in 2002 in Banff.

"She loved her job, she loved helping people," Lukawy said.

She comes almost every year, she said, and added that it's almost like a family. She sees many of the same faces year after year, and people know what each other are going through.

"You're never the same," she said.

The memorial happens across the country on the last sunday of September. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb

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