Burnet officers attend UK Police Memorial Day ceremony

The Burnet Police Department recently sent two of its officers, sergeants Lance Besancon and Gary Edwards, to represent the department at the 21st annual United Kingdom Police Memorial Day ceremony Sept. 29 at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The Burnet officers presented a commemorative plaque to the Burnet City Council on Oct. 22 in recognition of the event.

The UK Police Memorial Day ceremony is an annual event, similar to U.S. Police Week, dedicated to honoring officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Sergeants Besancon and Edwards marched in the ceremonial parade leading to the service, carrying flags alongside their UK counterparts.

“There were around 1,000 people attending the ceremony at the Royal Concert Hall there in Glasgow, and they became a part of that ceremony,” Burnet Police Chief Brian Lee said. “It was a big honor, not only just to get the invite but to participate in the ceremony.”

Besancon and Edwards were invited to the formal ceremony after impressing an officer from the UK during the U.S. Police Week Memorial held annually in Washington, D.C. Every year, the department sends two representatives to the U.S. ceremony to read the name of Burnet Police Officer Jose H. Meza, who died of a heart attack on Dec. 20, 2019.

“It all started back in December of 2019, when we lost Jose, our officer that started us to attend these memorials,” Lee said. “We just continue to support the memorial and work each year to make sure that we can provide comfort for those families that have lost an officer.”

Chief Lee noted that the UK service differs significantly from the U.S. equivalent, with only about five new names added to the memorial roll each year, compared to the 130–140 added annually in the United States.

Besancon and Edwards also had the unique opportunity to meet Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who discussed their visit, showing appreciation for the Burnet officers’ support. Cooper is the UK Secretary of State for the Home Department and oversees the National Security Council and Security Service.

“To see Secretary Cooper come and look at our patch, ask about our population, and see her reaction—that we were there to support them—was phenomenal,” Besancon said.

The city plans to commemorate the event with a display at the police department, ensuring the honor and memory of the experience are preserved.

“We do a very poor job in the police service, probably in law enforcement and public safety all around the world, of really capturing our history and memorializing what we’ve done,” Lee said. “This trip to Scotland, it’s such a unique event, we’ve created this picture to memorialize the trip.”

The sergeants who experienced the ceremony returned deeply moved by the experience.

“If you knew the relationships that had been fostered over there, it would blow your mind,” Besancon said. “We grew really close with the officers (in the UK).”

elizabeth@thepicayune.com