Hundreds Honor Fallen Law Enforcement Officers At Walk To Remember 5K

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Jersey City police sponsored a benefit walk Saturday to remember the 118 police officers who were killed in the line of duty nationwide in 2014.

The 5K walk at Liberty State Park raised money for the family of Jersey City Police Det. Melvin Santiago, who was fatally shot on July 13.

Listen to Hundreds Honor Fallen Law Enforcement Officers At Walk To Remember 5K

As 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported, bag pipes played to honor the fallen as several hundred people turned out for the Walk to Remember event.

Organizer Ed Dolan, president of the Detectives Benevolent Association, said police have been unjustly demonized by protesters following the Eric Garner case on Staten Island and the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri.

"January 17 will stand in remembrance for 118 fallen law enforcement officers who faithfully served their communities," he said to the crowd.

Among those in attendance was retired Jersey City Police Lt. Dennis Bonicore, whose brother died in the line of duty in the 1970s.

"Being a survivor of one who has lost a member of a police department, it hits right to the heart," he said.

Dolan said people have to know how many officers lost their lives protecting the public.