'Officer Down: Honoring the Fallen' captures the thin line between danger, safety that America's police walk daily
Officer Sean 'Sticks' Larkin follows alongside America's men and women in blue as they patrol the streets and embark on a nearly 300-mile bike ride to Washington D.C. in honor of fallen officers.
Officer Sean "Sticks" Larkin invites Fox Nation subscribers to lace up their boots for a day on patrol before swapping them for bike pedals on a poignant pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., paying tribute to the men and women in blue who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"Hearing the words ‘officer down' over the radio is everyone's worst nightmare," Larkin said, heading off the new Fox Nation special "Officer Down: Honoring the Fallen," which debuted on the platform earlier this month.
"But across the United States, it tragically happens on a regular basis. Over the past three decades, violent crime in America has decreased dramatically, yet the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has not followed that trend," he continued.
Just a month ago, four law enforcement officers were fatally shot in a warrant-related gunfight in Charlotte, North Carolina. Earlier in April, an officer was killed in a shootout in Memphis, Tennessee, and several months ago, an officer was shot and killed while trying to serve a trespass warning in Wyoming.
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"Officer Down: Remember the Fallen" focuses on the sacrifices America's men and women in blue make on a daily basis. (Fox Nation)
NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, whose death inspired a funeral home visit from former President Donald Trump and whose face momentarily starred on the billboard at Citi Field in honor of his service, is another reminder of the thin line between routine and life-threatening situations America's law enforcement tread daily.
"You go to work every day expecting that you may not go home. And I don't know if a lot of people really grasp that, but that is the case," Brian Ford, a patrol lieutenant with the Florham Park Police Department in New Jersey, said.
Officer Diana Gil, with the Maplewood Police Department in the Garden State, agreed.
"It's got to be in the back of everyone's head. If it's not, then something's wrong," she said. "And it can be scary because you don't know what's behind those closed doors."
Police officers across the nation put on their uniforms daily, not knowing what to expect, but always fearing the worst. (iStock)
Larkin walks alongside Bill Alexander, CEO of National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, through the Hall of Remembrance which honors 24,067 men and women who died in the line of duty. Pictures of fallen officers line the walls, with 282 added this year.
"Our numbers are increasing over time, and that's not accounting for the advances in medicine; that's not accounting for the tactical emergency care kits that officers almost universally carry. So, to some degree, our numbers are masking how increasingly dangerous the job is," Alexander said.
Despite that weighty risk, thousands of men and women wear the uniform every day.
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Members of the law enforcement community ride bicycles during the Police Unity Tour as they arrive at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2015. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Larkin then follows members of the law enforcement community as they take a long, grueling ride to honor fallen officers in the Police Unity Tour, pedaling for nearly 300 miles across four days from New Jersey to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., as they push themselves to new limits. In addition to raising awareness about the risks police officers face daily, the ride also raises funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum.
Officers visiting from Israel, showcasing their bond with American law enforcement, joined in the ride as well, some honoring their fallen comrades from the massacre of Oct. 7.
To follow along with law enforcement on their emotional ride for their fallen brothers and sisters, subscribe to Fox Nation and begin streaming "Officer Down: Honoring the Fallen" today.
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