Three Minnesota officers who died since last year’s Peace Officers Memorial Day are being remembered Thursday, along with two who were killed nearly 100 years ago.
Law enforcement officers from around the state take turns standing guard at the Minnesota Peace Officers Memorial on the state Capitol grounds for 24 hours leading up to the Thursday night service.
The names of officers who died since last year’s memorial service are added to ribbons on a Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association flag. This year, they are: Minneapolis Officer Jamal Mitchell, who was shot on May 30; National Park Service Ranger Kevin Grossheim, who drowned in Voyageurs National Park while helping a family; and Red Lake Tribal Police Officer Jesse Branch, who was in a crash when responding to a call.
Laurence Doten (Courtesy of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association)
Two law enforcement officers killed in 1930, recently brought to the attention of LEMA, are also being memorialized this year, said Brian Hubbard, the association’s president.
Immigration and Naturalization Service Inspectors Laurence Doten and Lawrence C. Jones were both stationed in Minnesota. They were fatally shot near Emo, Canada, on Aug. 24, 1930.
It’s important to LEMA that people are “recognized like they should be,” Hubbard said Thursday.
Burnsville police officers Matt Ruge and Paul Elmstrand, who were fatally shot in February 2024, were honored at last year’s memorial ceremony.
Commander Damon Bitney, of the Bloomington Police Department, rings a bell for a fallen police officer during a vigil at the Minnesota Peace Officer Memorial on the south grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Their names, along with Mitchell’s and Grossheim’s, were unveiled this week at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., this week. Branch’s name is scheduled to be added to the national memorial for next year’s ceremony.
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