IN MEMORIAM: Titusville Police Officer Steve House Killed in the Line of Duty 30 Years Ago

May 15 is Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls is Police Week

BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day and we honor Titusville Police Officer Steve House, who was killed in the line of duty on February 15, 1989.

Officer House was at the range for firearms qualifications that day and was called back to the police department to participate in an operation with the emergency response team (SWAT).

The operation centered around a suspected drug dealer, and the plan was to search the suspect’s residence for the presence of illegal drugs.

The team entered the residence and took the suspect into custody, however, the suspect’s father ran to a bedroom and barricaded himself inside.

Officer House tried to talk the man into coming out, but he refused to do so. As Officer House introduced a distraction device into the room and began to enter, the man began firing.

Officer House received a fatal gunshot wound and the gunman was charged with murder.

At the trial, he was found not guilty and was subsequently released.

Officer House lost his life at age 36, leaving behind a loving wife, Mary Ann and four children.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.

Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts thousands of survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation’s Capital each year.

The National Peace Officers Memorial Service, which is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, is one in a series of events which includes the Candlelight Vigil, which is sponsored by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and seminars sponsored by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)

National Police Week draws in between 25,000 to 40,000 attendees. The attendees come from departments throughout the United States as well as from agencies throughout the world.

This provides a unique opportunity to meet others who work in law enforcement. In that spirit, the Fraternal Order of Police DC Lodge #1 sponsors receptions each afternoon and evening during Police Week. These events are open to all law enforcement personnel and are an experience unlike any other.

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