LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada law enforcement have officially hit the road to honor fallen officers and troopers.
On Wednesday morning, law enforcement gathered to kick off the 24th annual Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Relay Run.
According to police, there are currently over 150 names on the Nevada Fallen Officers Memorial Wall in Carson City. This year, five more names will be added to the wall.
That includes Officer Anthony Francone, Sgt. Michael Abbate, Trooper Alberto Felix, Trooper Clifford Fontaine, and Corrections Officer Victor Hunter.
WATCH: 24th annual Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Relay Run kicks off in Las Vegas
Francone, who worked for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Police, was killed on Aug. 25, 2023 when he was struck by a vehicle that was being pursued south of Nixon, Nevada. He served with Pyramid Lake for just over two years and was a police officer for 26 years.
Abbate and Felix both worked for Nevada State Police and were killed in the line of duty in November after being struck by a drunk driver.
Fontaine worked for Nevada Highway Patrol and died on Nov. 27, 2021 from COVID-19.
Hunter died on Sept. 16, 2011 from a work-related incident after dying in a car accident following a medical episode at a detention center. His death is being classified as a historical line of duty death.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said he remembers Hunter well.
"He told familiy and friends that he found his true calling when he joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Victor was a manager at a Von's Grocery Store when he decided to join LVMPD's Corrections Academy at the age of 46," McMahill said. "Despite the physical and mental demands, his work ethic and demand saw him graduate from the academy with his son Christopher. They made history as the first father/son duo to complete our academy together."
WATCH: LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill shares more about law enforcement officers memorial relay run
McMahill said he knows the next couple of weeks will be hard for families of the fallen but that he hopes the run is one way to show how much law enforcement appreciates their sacrifice.
"Any time we pause to honor our fallen officers, it gives me great pride. I don't believe there is a profession on the planet like policing. I don't believe there's a more honorable profession than policing. No career takes more out of you. Nobody asks more than what we ask. But I tell you what, at the end of the day, there's not a career that's more fulfilling than being a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and our police agencies here in southern Nevada," McMahill said. "It's an honor for us to have the opportunity to add their names, to think about their lives, to think about their service, and pause during the long, arduous run to reflect on how much it is that they gave and they gave all."
According to McMahill, in addition to the names being added to the wall in Carson City, the names will also be added to the wall of fallen officers in Washington D.C., Reno, and Police Memorial Park in Las Vegas.
During the run, each participant will run a specific distance carrying a baton containing the names of the officers on the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The run will last nine days before runners arrive at the Nevada State Capitol on May 2.
