Chief Robert Strange and Lt. Jason Winger thank West Sacramento officials for proclaiming May 12 to 18 as National Police Week and May 14 as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day with a dual proclamation at the May 15 meeting.

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - There is no greater gift than giving one's life for another. Mayor Martha Guererro and Councilwoman Quirinao Orozco honored the life of Officer James H. McKnight, who lost his life in the line of duty serving West Sacramento in 1990.

West Sacramento officials recognized May 12 to 18 as National Police Week and May 14 as Peace Officers' Memorial Day with a dual proclamation at the May 15 meeting, read by the mayor and councilwoman.

"He and the entire McKnight family will forever have our gratitude," Guererro read.

Police Chief Robert Strange took the podium, thanking officials for the honor of serving since 2019 before admitting he was not going to speak, but "earlier comments inspired" him.

"For the first time in this setting of the history of this city, you are doing this proclamation today, and it is very significant to my team and us, who you see many of standing around here today," Chief Strange said.

McKnight is one of many losses, with Yolo County losing 12 community protectors since 1912.

'Since the first recorded death in 1786, there are nearly 24,000 law enforcement officers in the United States who have made the ultimate sacrifice and been killed in the line of duty while serving their communities," Orozco read, adding, "In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as Peace Officers' Memorial Day."

Being added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this spring is 282 new names of fallen heroes, according to Orozco. There were 118 officers killed in the line of duty in 2023 and 164 deaths in previous years.

Chief Strange said he will hand off the proclamation to Officer McKnight's son, Jim. Lt. Jason Winger shared his personal experience with Officer McKnight’s death, saying “though I did not personally work with Officer McKnight, his death had a significant impact on my career."

On Friday, June 15, 1990, Officer McKnight was shot during a search warrant operation with the Yolo County Narcotic Enforcement Team, a multi-agency narcotics task force.

"Officer McKnight succumbed to his injuries on June 16, 1990. At this time, I was a 14-year-old Sheriff's cadet with the Yolo County Sheriff's Office, just starting the path to my law enforcement career," Lt. Winger said, adding his father, who worked for the Woodland Police Department at the time, befriended Officer McKnight.

"I experienced seeing my father lose a friend and co-worker," Winger said. "The impact it had on our close Yolo County law enforcement community and the sorrow I felt for the McKnight family."

Four years later, Winger joined the West Sacramento Police Department on the 10th anniversary of Officer McKnight's death and began serving on the Yolo County Narcotic Enforcement team like McKnight.

"Each day, his sacrifice and memory are honored by our staff with a memorial inside our briefing room as we come and go from the West Sacramento facility named in his honor," Winger said.

Winger added that McKnight's life reminds the West Sacramento law enforcers of the dangers they face protecting the community.

"The adoption of this proclamation, recognizing National Police Week and Police Officer Memorial Day, and the sacrifice of Officer James McKnight and his family, and that of all the fallen officers, is important to keep their memories alive," Winger said.

Guerrero called up all the officers and their family members in the crowd for a photo to commemorate the occasion.