Buzzards Bay Vigil Planned to Honor Murdered Police Officers

East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies release balloons at a noon vigil organized by municipal court workers in downtown Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 20, 2106, in honor of recent slain and injured sheriff deputies and police. Several police officers and sheriff deputies were killed and wounded Sunday morning in a shooting near a gas station in Baton Rouge, less than two weeks after a black man was shot and killed by police here, sparking nightly protests across the city. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

BUZZARDS BAY – A vigil is scheduled for Thursday night in Buzzards Bay to remember and honor police officers shot and killed recently in Texas and Louisiana.

Selectmen Michael Blanton and Peter Meier are helping to organize the vigil that will take place at the gazebo in Buzzards Bay Park beginning at 5 p.m.

Blanton said they want to honor the lives of the officers who were killed and recognize the work of local law enforcement officers in Bourne and across Cape Cod.

“We really want to organize this outreach to have folks come and try to recognize the efforts of those that go and serve us every day,” said Blanton.

He said that while Cape Cod hasn’t seen any of the violence experienced in other parts of the country, there is still some angst for members of law enforcement.

Bourne police officer Jared MacDonald, who was shot in the line of duty last year, will speak at the vigil.

MacDonald was shot in the back after a gunman killed one female and injured another. MacDonald was nearly paralyzed and had to learn how to walk all over again.

Five Dallas, Texas police officers were murdered in an ambush on July 7 during a Black Lives Matter protest over recent police-involved deaths of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.

On July 17, two Baton Rouge, Louisiana police officers and a sheriff’s deputy were shot and killed in an ambush. Several other officers were critically injured.

Blanton hopes the vigil will be a chance for people to come forward and express their thoughts and feelings.

“Black lives matter, blue lives matter, all lives matter. We really want this to be an opportunity for people to come forward and express their solidarity, express the fact that we all want to be safe,” said Blanton.

By MATT PITTA, CapeCod.com News Director