THE NOMINATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS
Sergeant Booden,
I have found the following information that may be helpful to you.
An Officer Data Form must be completed for each officer considered for inclusion on the Memorial. The form must be signed by the head of the agency for which the officer worked; forms that do no have the signature of an agency head will not be processed. Individuals not affiliated with the agency which the officer served may initiate an Officer Data Form, but the form still must be signed by the agency head.
Officer Data Forms and any supporting documentation are reviewed for accuracy and completeness by the NLEOMF's Research Department. If additional information or documentation is needed, Research staff will contact the submitting agency. Officers Data Forms must be submitted to the Research Department by December 31 to be considered for inclusion on the Memorial the next year.
Completed forms are forwarded to a committee of the NLEOMF Board of Director called the Names Committee. Committee members thoroughly review each case to determine if the circumstances of the death meet the criteria for inclusion on the National Memorial. During 2-3 meetings held at the beginning of each year, the Committee votes to either approve or deny a case, or to send the case back to the submitting agency for more information. A case that has been denied by the Committee can be re-submitted for consideration in future years, provided that additional information or documentation is supplied.
Once cases have been approved by the Names Committee, NLEOMF Research Staff contacts the agencies for which the officers worked for confirmation and follow up. Staff also works with the Memorial's engravers to align the names on the Memorial and schedule the engraving, usually 2-3 weeks prior to National Police Week. Each May 13, during the Candlelight Vigil at the Memorial, the newly engraved names are read aloud and formally dedicated on the monument.