On the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, more than 300 people gathered behind the State House in Concord for the 34th annual New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony, standing in the spring air to honor 56 officers who died in the line of duty since 1886. Uniformed officers, state officials, families of the fallen, and members of the public stood together as each name was read aloud, red carnations placed in a white star-shaped wreath to mark each loss.

The ceremony, organized by the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Association, is one of the state’s most solemn annual traditions, held each year in the weeks surrounding National Police Week. This year’s observance carried particular weight given the recent high-profile law enforcement incidents in the state, including the Raymond shooting in 2025 and the ongoing scrutiny of officer conduct in several departments. But the mood at the ceremony was one of reverence, not politics.

A New Name Added to the Record

Each year, the ceremony provides an opportunity to add names to the memorial wall when historical research or changing documentation uncovers an officer whose line-of-duty death had not previously been formally recognized. This year, that honor went to Augustus Farmer of the Bow Police Department, who died in 1893.

Farmer’s story, over 130 years removed from the present, is nevertheless a familiar one in broad outline: an officer attempting to restore order in a community dispute met with violence that cost him his life. According to historical accounts, Farmer had been attempting to enforce order during an ongoing dispute involving a vicious dog when the animal’s owners attacked him fatally. The addition of his name to the official record reflects the ongoing work of historians and advocates who believe the sacrifice of every officer deserves recognition, regardless of how long ago it occurred.

The process of adding historical names to the New Hampshire memorial is not routine. It requires research, documentation, and a formal review by the association. The fact that Farmer was not recognized for over a century is a reminder that the historical record of law enforcement service in New Hampshire is still being reconstructed.

Families Who Come Every Year

For the families of officers lost decades ago, the annual ceremony is a thread of continuity connecting the present to an absence that never fully fades. Lt. Robert Hollis Jr. died in the line of duty in 1975. More than fifty years later, his granddaughter Andrea Brannock still attends the ceremony every year, bringing her sons Zachary and Joshua with her.

This year, Zachary and Joshua Brannock helped hand out flowers at the ceremony, a role that placed them in the center of the commemoration rather than simply as spectators. For the Brannock family, the ceremony is not a historical obligation but a living one, a way of ensuring that a grandfather and great-grandfather they never knew remains present in the family’s identity.

Stories like the Brannocks’ repeat throughout the crowd in variations. Some families have attended for a decade, others for three. The consistency of their attendance reflects something that formal tributes can sometimes obscure: that line-of-duty deaths do not end with the officer. They extend outward through families, through departments, through communities, for generations.

Governor Ayotte’s Remarks

Governor Kelly Ayotte delivered the keynote address at the ceremony. Ayotte, who served as the state’s attorney general before her tenure as U.S. senator and her return to the governorship, has a long professional relationship with the law enforcement community and approached the podium with what observers described as genuine emotional weight.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with all of you in solidarity, support and remembrance,” Ayotte said, directing her words to the families assembled. The governor also ordered flags across the state to fly at half-staff for the day in honor of the fallen officers, a formal gesture that extended the ceremony’s reach beyond the 300 people who gathered in Concord.

Ayotte’s remarks touched on themes that have defined her law-and-order political identity: the dangers that officers face daily, the obligation of the state to support them and to honor those who do not return, and the importance of ensuring that families left behind feel the weight of the state’s gratitude. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander was also in attendance and spoke to the crowd.

How the Ceremony Unfolded

The ceremony followed a formal structure. Attorney General John Formella read the names of all 56 officers aloud, one by one, as family members or department representatives placed a red carnation in the memorial wreath for each. The wreath, shaped as a white star, stood at the center of the ceremony, growing heavier and more vivid with each addition.

The honor guard included active duty officers, motorcycles, and police horses, a combination that gave the ceremony a physical weight and presence. The sound of the names being read, the rhythm of the flowers being placed, the horses and motorcycles flanking the ceremony: it all produced something that participants describe as being simultaneously public and deeply private, a shared grief that is nonetheless intensely personal for each family in attendance.

The 34th annual ceremony is one mark on a long timeline. The first such ceremony in New Hampshire took place in 1993, at a time when many of the officers now on the memorial wall had already died. The association’s work since then has been to build a tradition that can hold the weight of all that history.

The Broader Context of NH Law Enforcement Loss

The 56 names on the New Hampshire memorial represent a range of eras, circumstances, and departments. The earliest, like Augustus Farmer, go back to the 19th century, when policing was a different occupation in a different state. The most recent names reflect losses in the modern era, including officers killed in traffic incidents, ambushes, and encounters gone wrong.

The New Hampshire State Police, the Manchester Police Department, and agencies from virtually every county in the state are represented on the wall. The variety of departments reflects the geographic reality of New Hampshire law enforcement: a state with a small population but a large territory, where officers in small towns and rural counties often work with less backup and fewer resources than their counterparts in larger jurisdictions.

As New Hampshire navigates the complicated questions surrounding law enforcement that define this moment nationally, including the ongoing debate over the 287(g) immigration partnerships that have expanded significantly this year, the conversations about use of force policy, and the scrutiny of departments involved in high-profile incidents like the Raymond shooting, the memorial ceremony offers a different register. It does not adjudicate. It does not debate. It remembers.

For the families who come every year, that is enough. For the officers who attend in uniform, it is a reminder of what the work costs and why it matters. For the 300 people who stood in Concord on May 22 and listened to 56 names read into the spring air, it is a way of keeping faith with people who gave everything.

How many New Hampshire law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty?

As of the 2026 memorial ceremony, 56 New Hampshire law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty since 1886. Their names are inscribed on the NH Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, located in Concord.

When is the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony held?

The NH Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony is held annually in May, typically during or near National Police Week. The 2026 ceremony, the 34th annual event, was held May 22 at 10 a.m. at 33 North State Street in Concord.

Who spoke at the 2026 NH Law Enforcement Memorial?

Governor Kelly Ayotte delivered the keynote address, and Attorney General John Formella read the names of all 56 fallen officers. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander was also in attendance and addressed the crowd.

What name was newly added to the NH Law Enforcement Memorial in 2026?

Augustus Farmer of the Bow Police Department, who died in 1893, was newly added to the memorial in 2026. He was fatally attacked while attempting to enforce order in a dispute involving a vicious dog and the dog's owners.

How is the NH Law Enforcement Memorial ceremony structured?

The ceremony features the reading of the names of all fallen officers by the attorney general, with family members or department representatives placing red carnations in a white star-shaped memorial wreath. An honor guard with active officers, motorcycles, and police horses is also part of the ceremony.

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