BATON ROUGE – Four Louisiana law enforcement officers that were killed in the line of duty in 2012, including Deputies Brandon Nielsen and Jeremy Triche of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, were honored by the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement in a special Medal of Honor Ceremony in Baton Rouge recently.
In addition to Triche and Nielson, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement gave the Medal of
Honor award posthumously to the following officers: Deputy Randall L. Benoit of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Ricky Issac Jr. of the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office. The four officers bring the number of Medal of Honor recipients to a total of 76 since the program’s inception. The Louisiana Law Enforcement Medal of Honor was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1997 to recognize the service and ultimate sacrifice made by law enforcement officers for the protection and safety of the citizens of Louisiana.
The LCLE annually honors the officers’ supreme sacrifice on the part of a grateful state and in the hope that their memories will live on forever.
The LCLE monitors the law enforcement community throughout the calendar year and coordinates the nomination of officers killed in the line of duty. Each officer’s family is invited to attend the ceremony at the expense of the LCLE and is presented the Medal of Honor, commemorative plaques, a state flag, a framed photo of the deceased officer and a personalized candle that is used during the ceremony.