Several police agencies from across Nevada gathered on Friday to honor fellow first responders at the 38th annual James D. Hoff Peace Officer Memorial ceremony.
Hundreds of people attended the ceremony with multiple performances, honorable awards given out, and traditions carried on including the 21-gun salute.
"Thank god we had no officers who were killed in the line of duty last year," said Reno Police Officer Hunter Mercurio. "Unfortunately, we will be putting an officer on the plaque next year."
That officer is 46-year-old Jason Roscow with the North Las Vegas Police Department. He died in a shooting in February.
Reno Police Chief Kathryn Nance says it's important our community honors our local officers since they risk their lives every day.
"A lot of times they don't see that, the scary stuff, the bad stuff, the stuff that officers go through on a daily basis," said Nance. "It's just another opportunity for us to recognize them."
Five officers received the James D. Hoff Survivor Plaques for protecting the community in critical emergencies that nearly got them killed.
"These plaques are not taken lightly, and these officers were in some pretty dangerous situations and by the grace of god came out of it okay," Mercurio says.
One of them was Sergeant Christopher Rivera who was involved in the Carson City shooting on New Years.
"It's humbling," he said. "I recognize that there were seven other officers there with me as well that helped out and it was a team effort that came through and just the training and experience is what kept everybody safe."
Saturday is the 12th annual Nevada Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Ride. To learn more, you can click here.
