Area residents pay tribute to police

Carina Kaman spent much of the past week with tears in her eyes as she scrolled through page after page of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.

Struck by vehicle heart attack vehicle pursuit vehicle accident gunfire heart attack vehicle accident.

"A lot of them died of heart attacks," Kaman said. "I searched through every state. It was pretty tough."

Using information from the Officer Down Memorial Page website, Kaman created a sheet for each state, showing the number of officers who died in the line of duty since 2011. She posted the information at the "Blue Line, stand together united" police memorial event in Kiwanis Park Saturday.

About 50 people attended the memorial, with more stopping by throughout the afternoon. Organizer Anthony Amoss said it was prompted by the July 7 sniper attack in Dallas that killed five police officers and wounded nine others, as well as two civilians.

"We live in a society that downplays (support) for police officers," Amoss said. "This event is for the officers. We need to give them the appreciation they deserve."

Kaman said when she heard Amoss was planning a memorial, she was all in.

"Who else comes to your rescue?" she said. "I can't think of many other jobs like that."

The state sheets she created showed just how hazardous law enforcement can be. Deleware, Maine and Rhode Island were the only states with just one death in the past six years.

"I was pretty happy when I saw those,"

Kaman said.

The Idaho sheet listed two deaths, one in 2015 and one this year. Washington had 12 deaths. Texas had 87, while New York lost 90 officers.

Nezbeth Leonard stopped by the memorial with her 14-year-old son, Randall Lloyd. They carried an American flag at half-mast.

"It's nice to be able to stand up and show support for police and all our men and women in uniform," Leonard said.

She worked as an emergency medical technician for five years in California and Idaho, interacting with law enforcement on a daily basis.

"They had to clear the scene and make it safe for us," she said.

Participants in the memorial took a short walk to show their respect for fallen officers. Three Idaho National Guard members also conducted a flag ceremony and played "Taps," and a barbecue was held for participants and for area police officers.

Members of the 3 Percent of Idaho group also took part in the memorial.

"This is important to us," said Matthew Dillard. "We support the police and local government. There's a lot of misconception about what (the group) is here for, so this is a perfect event for us. The police lay their lives on the line for people, so we want them to understand there are citizens willing to do the same for them."

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Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.