Members of local law enforcement organizations took time on Monday to remember their fallen brothers and sisters during a Peace Officers Memorial Day service.

The service, hosted by Suffolk Lodge No. 41 of the Fraternal Order of Police, brought together officers from several local jurisdictions to honor officers killed in the line of duty.

“Your bravery, service and sacrifice bless us beyond what mere words like ‘Thank you’ can say,” said Suffolk Police Chief Thomas Bennett.

During the service, the officers paid tribute to the four of Suffolk’s own who have died in the line of duty — Policeman George T. Smith in 1908, Chief William E. Brinkley in 1918, Patrolman Joseph S. Pratt in 1935 and Police Officer William Andrew “Drew” Henley in 2005.

“We assure the families we will never, ever forget,” said Marty Williams, president of the Virginia State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Suffolk’s first three line of duty deaths were “all victims of violent gunfire by perpetrators who didn’t care about law and justice,” Williams said.

Henley suffered a heart attack on March 19, 2005 after chasing a man who was wanted in another jurisdiction. The street on which Suffolk Police Department’s headquarters now sits was renamed in his honor.

Those who have died nationwide also were honored during the service. Last year, the nation lost 153 officers in the line of duty. More than 20,000 have lost their lives in the line of duty since the 1790s. Already this year, 69 have died nationwide.

“Every year, we have to add more names to that wall,” Williams said of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Suffolk Police Lt. Allan Iversen Jr. also recognized a number of recent deaths among past members of the local law enforcement family, including Jeff Bangley, Sammy Chapman, John Marx, Mike Simpkins and J. Michael Howell.

“Each of these FOP members meant a lot to me personally and to many that are here,” Iversen said. “That’s what I remember as Suffolk Police Department.”

Mayor Linda T. Johnson provided remarks at the ceremony, underscoring the fact that law enforcement officers know their job is dangerous.

“Every morning, you get up and take that chance that you just might not be coming home,” she said.

For more information about line of duty deaths in Suffolk and the United States, visit the Officer Down Memorial Page at www.odmp.org.