WASHINGTON -- The names of five fallen Arkansas lawmen were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this month.
Four of the five died last year in the line of duty.
Officer Brent William Perry Scrimshire, 33, of the Hot Springs Police Department, was shot and killed on March 10, 2020 during a traffic stop along Kenwood Street. A six-year veteran of the department, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of corporal.
Detective Kevin Dwaine Collins, a member of the Pine Bluff Police Department, was shot and killed on Oct. 5 during an investigation at a hotel on North Blake Street. Collins, 35, had been on the force for five years and was assigned to the violent crimes unit at the time of his death.
Officer Travis Cental Wallace of the Helena-West Helena Police Department was shot and killed during a Nov. 12 traffic stop along U.S. 49. A veteran of law enforcement for a decade, Wallace, 41, had spent five years on the Helena-West Helena police force.
Sgt. James Lawrence "Buck" Dancy of the North Little Rock Police Department, was exposed to covid-19 on Nov 10 while on duty. A 35-year veteran of the department, he died on Dec. 2 at age 62.
The fifth Arkansas name is that of Ed Allen, a Esculapia Township constable who died in the line of duty in Benton County on March 16, 1924.
There are now 22,611 names on the wall.
Of those 394 were added this year.
In 2020, 295 officers across the nation died in the line of duty, including 182 who succumbed to covid-19.
Besides Allen, researchers tracked down the names of 98 others who, until now, had gone unrecognized.
Located in Judiciary Square, the memorial is less than a mile northwest of the U.S. Capitol. It first opened in 1991.
Typically, a candlelight vigil is held each May to recognize the sacrifice of the fallen officers. Because of covid-19, this year's event was a virtual one.
In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., eulogized Scrimshire, Collins, Wallace and Dancy, saying they "courageously gave their lives while upholding law and order."
"Their deaths are tragic and call us to acknowledge their tremendous heroism and selflessness. They also invite us to appreciate the reality that the stakes of this occupation are a lot higher than most others – they are life and death. The perilous nature of policing and law enforcement is something we simply can't underestimate or fail to respect," he said.
In a separate speech, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., paid tribute to law enforcement officials in his district who have made the ultimate sacrifice in recent years.
"These guardians stand on the front lines -- regardless of the peril to themselves -- not for praise or glory but to protect our citizens and uphold law and order," he said.
"And, no matter the situation, they answer the call of duty," he added.
Information for this article was contributed by Tracy Neal of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.