Thiele reads names of fallen officers at national memorial
Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele reads the names of the Minnesota fallen officers during a candlelight vigil of the national police memorial in Washington, D.C., May 13. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is shown standing at the far right. Submitted photo
The names of three fallen Minnesota police officers were read during a candlelight vigil of the national police memorial May 13 by another Minnesota officer—Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele.
Thiele, who also serves as president of FBI-LEEDA, was given the duty to read Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge of Burnsville Police and Jamal Mitchell of Minneapolis Police. The three were killed in the line of duty in 2024 while responding to disturbance calls.
“It’s something I will never forget,” said Thiele, noting the ceremony took place on a cold and rainy night in D.C. “We were all drenched, but knowing we were reading names, it didn’t affect us. Honoring the names through the chill was heartwarming.”
More than 30,000 police officers and their families attended the 37th annual vigil. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, which is located on the grounds of the nation’s capital, is a place of honor and remembrance for those who have been killed while protecting the public.
There were 345 names of fallen officers read during this year’s ceremony, though not all of them were killed over the past year.
While this was Thiele’s first time of being involved directly in the ceremony, it was not the only time he has attended. He also went to the memorial in 2024. “I was there last year paying respects and looking at the names of fallen officers,” he said. “It’s so sad and maddening to see so many police officer names on the memorial wall,” he added.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota followed Thiele with reading officer names from another state.