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Speaker of the House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nunez, along with Rep. Félix Pacheco Burgos, who chairs the Public Safety Committee in the lower chamber, earlier this week honored members of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau who lost their lives in 2024 while fulfilling the sacred duty of safeguarding life and property.
In a solemn ceremony Tuesday night, the lawmakers, along with designated Secretary of State Veronica Ferraiuoli Hornedo, Police Bureau Commissioner Joseph González Falcón, designated Justice Secretary Janet Parra Mercado and designated Public Safety Secretary Arthur Garffer, among others, paid posthumous tribute to Sgts. Eliezer Ramos Vélez, who lost his life in April 2024, and Luis Algarín de Jesús, who died last June.
“I know that many police officers in Puerto Rico, before leaving their homes, put themselves in the hands of the Lord precisely because they go out to serve the people, they go out to do the work for which they were trained,” the House speaker said in his message. “I know that there are no words that we can say that can satisfy the pain of the loss of a loved one; there are no words. Those of us who have lost our parents, brothers or children, know that this void is difficult to fill. That is why it is important to support the police, because they have been there patrolling, providing traffic control, helping when Puerto Rico suffered the ravages of Hurricane Maria; they have witnessed the need of our people. That is why every day we seek to approve legislation that honors the Puerto Rico police force.”
The well attended and emotional event took place at the Monument to Police Officers Who Have Fallen in the Line of Duty, on Capitol District grounds. Among the guests were various legislators from both houses, as well as former Police Commissioner Antonio López Figueroa and former Public Safety Secretary Alexis Torres Ríos.
