Buildings in Downtown Dallas will light up in blue Thursday night in honor of the officers killed July 7, 2016. Dallas Police Senior Corporal Lorne Ahrens, Officer Michael Krol, Sergeant Michael Smith, Officer Patrick Zamarripa and Dallas Area Rapid Transit Officer Brent Thompson were killed while working at a local protest of police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.
The organization, Honor Our Heroes, is working with buildings in Downtown Dallas to coordinate lighting schemes on six days this year.
May 4, buildings lit up in red for International Firefighters Day. May 15, they lit blue for National Peace Officers Memorial Day. They lit red, white and blue for Memorial Day and Independence Day and will do the same for Veterans Day November 11.
Thursday, they will light up in blue "in remembrance of the Dallas Fallen Five."
"Our goal at Honor Our Heroes is to thank, pray for and support those folks, the first responders, who are putting their lives on the line every day," says Honor Our Heroes Chairman Joe Ruzicka.
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Ruzicka says the lighting scheme will honor the fallen officers but also show support for current officers. With protests over other issues ongoing now, he says police continue to put their lives in danger each day.
"We live in the greatest country in the world. Certainly we have some flaws, but our opportunity to be able to be free allows us to do a lot of things a lot of other countries don't have," he says.
"It definitely improves [officers'] morale, and it improves community morale knowing police officers are appreciative of their support," says Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
Ruzicka says Honor Our Heroes exists to help people understand the work of police, firefighters and the military.
"When you are put in the shoes of a police or fireman, you understand what they go through on a daily basis. It really gives you an appreciation," he says. "Someone who makes a traffic stop at night by themselves, I'm not sure most citizens would want to do that. By joining an organization like Volunteers in Patrol or even being a volunteer for the fire department, helping serve coffee when you've got to get up at two in the morning with the fire, that really gives you an idea of what these folks go through on a daily basis."
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