Legislation to honor the 15 members of the King County Sheriff’s Office who have been killed in the line of duty unanimously passed the King County Council’s Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee.

There is no memorial within King County honoring those men who died protecting their fellow citizens, according to a media release from County Councilman Reagan Dunn.

On March 6, Dunn proposed legislation to recognize these individuals through the creation of a memorial for fallen deputies within the King County Courthouse.

“Remembering, honoring and memorializing the deputies in the King County Sheriff’s Office that have given the ultimate sacrifice is a fitting tribute,” said Dunn. “This memorial is the right thing to do and I look forward to working with Sheriff John Urquhart and the King County Police Officers Guild to help create an appropriate memorial worthy of these 15 heroes.”

“The deputies in the King County Sheriff’s Office are some of the finest men and women I have ever known,” Urquhart said. “The memorial proposed by Councilmembers Dunn and (Kathy) Lambert is a fitting tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.”

The Sheriff’s Office is King County’s first and longest serving law enforcement agency. The first sheriff deputy killed in the line of duty was in 1853 and the most recent was in 2006. All 15 deputies are recognized both in Washington, D.C. as part of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, and in Olympia, where they are listed on the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial.

Dunn’s proposed ordinance calls on the Executive and the King County Sheriff to submit a proposal to the County Council by June 1. The proposal should include where the memorial will be located, a method to solicit designs for the display, and the proposed schedule, budget and potential funding sources for its construction.

The ordinance has been sent to the full Council for discussion and final action.