The Aquidneck Island National Police Parade will be held on May 5, 2024, to honor police officers who died in the line of duty in 2023 and previous years.
The parade will begin at 11:30 am in front of 317 West Main Rd. in Middletown, Rhode Island. It will travel south on Broadway and end in Washington Square.
Officers Hartford Police Detective Robert Garten, Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, and Connecticut State Police K9 Broko will be honored. Detective Garten was killed in the line of duty on September 6, 2023, after a motor vehicle accident. Officer Tracey was killed in the line of duty on December 6, 2023, after a motor vehicle accident. Broko was killed in the line of duty on December 21, 2023, while protecting his handler.
Begun in 1973, the parade’s intent is to celebrate a history of recognizing law enforcement officers past and present for their duty, honor, and sacrifice to the communities they serve.
The National Police Parade is one of only a handful of parades of this type around the country outside of Washington D.C., according to organizers.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.