A somber service in St. Paul Wednesday honoring the lives of 33 fallen police officers.
St. Paul Police came together to honor and pay respects to fallen comrades and Police Chief Axel Henry was among the speakers at the 61st annual Memorial Service.
Gerald Sackett was just three weeks old when his father, James Thomas Sackett Sr., was gunned down in the line of duty.
Officer Sackett had just returned to work and was responding to a call of a woman in labor needing help. He approached the dark house and shots rang up.
"(An) officer ran back to the front, only to find my dad, Officer James Thomas Sackett Sr. shot dead.," he explained.
This year, they ran the bell 33 times, up one from last year, as Officer Felicia Reilly, who died this year after injuries she suffered 15 years ago while on duty.
Henry said was working as a sergeant the day she was beaten by a suspect.
"I will never forgive myself," Henry told the crowd. "Not for the fact that we failed her, but for the fact that every officer out here, every officer that isn't here, that you see out on the streets, operates on the assumption that if they work hard enough, they try hard enough and they get out there and they make those sacrifices, they can prevent these things," he explained.
Chief Henry says they continue to see an increase in assaults on officers.
Reilly eventually died injuries she received after responding to a 911 hang up call at a residence in the 1600 block of Birmingham Street in Saint Paul on March 24, 2010.
When Officer Reilly arrived at the home, she was invited inside and was notified that the elderly couple's son was threatening them. As Officer Reilly approached the subject, he began to attack her.
She was repeatedly punched and kicked in the head by the suspect and eventually was transported to the hospital for her injuries. Reilly was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Throughout the years she suffered from permanent double vision, chronic migraine headaches, light sensitivity, nausea, and a decrease in cognitive functioning, forcing her to retire from the department. She passed away on March 1, 2025, from her injuries.