An estimated 30,000 flickering flames that lit up the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this week were for Wyoming police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee and 147 law officers others killed in the line of duty in 2024.
The Sheridan Police Department veteran was shot and killed while trying to serve a trespass warrant on a suspect Feb. 13, 2024. That touched off a nearly two-day standoff with the shooter that ended in his death while trying to escape the home he had holed up in.
Krinkee’s sudden death marked the first time a Wyoming law officer was killed in the line of duty since 1997, when Wyoming Corrections Dept. Cpl. Wayne Martinez was stabbed to death by three inmates attempting an escape.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, attended Tuesday’s vigil hosted by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).
“I was especially there to honor one of our own, Officer Krinkee from Sheridan,” Hageman said in a statement. “May we always remember him, revere his courage and back the blue.”
Krinkee was as six-year veteran of the Sheridan PD, and left behind a wife and a young daughter younger than a year old at the time of his death.
Hageman and the thousands of others gathered to show their support for Krinkee and the 147 other officers killed in the line of duty in 2024.
“Seargent Krinkee is an example of someone who selflessly served his country, both in the U.S. Army and as a Sheridan police officer,” Hageman says in her statement. “His life will be remembered in Wyoming for generations.
“He was a man of honor and integrity and serves as an example to all of us of living a life for the betterment of others.”
She also said she also joined some of Krinkee’s fellow officers to see his name engraved into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
Roll Call Of Heroes
Each year during the vigil, the names of the dead are read aloud in what the NLEOMF has designated the “Roll Call of Heroes.”
Those names are then carved into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, a tribute built in Washington, D.C., in 1991 to honor officers killed in the line of duty.
The annual candlelight vigil is one of many events honoring National Police Week, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday.
Although not in attendance at the vigil, Wyoming’s senior Senator and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso recognized those sacrifices from the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
“I rise today during police week with a message to our law enforcement officers, and it’s one they don’t hear often enough.” Barrasso said. “It’s a message of thank you.”
This year marks the 37th annual candlelight vigil to take place during National Police Week. It also included the recognition of 197 officers killed prior to 2024 whose deaths have been verified by law enforcement service records.
“Police officers have one of the most dangerous and demanding jobs in our nation, and they do it with competence and compassion,” Barrasso said in a statement to Cowboy State Daily. “They wear the badge and protect our communities despite all the risks.”
Barrasso addressed Krinkee’s death specifically from the Senate floor.
“Sergeant Krinkee was a man of strong faith, selflessness,” he said. “His colleagues said he always put other people first.
“His death in February of last year in the line of duty is absolutely tragic. It shook our state.”
