Gov. Janet Mills praised law enforcement Tuesday for their bravery in responding to the Lewiston mass shootings in October that claimed the lives of 18 people.

Her comments came during an annual ceremony to honor the 88 members of Maine law enforcement who have died in the line of duty since the 1800s.

“Maine law enforcement honored the promise of these 88 names when they came from far and wide to Lewiston and Lisbon,” she said. “Those were dark days and we will always remember how you answered the sudden call of duty when it came.”

Mills served as the keynote speaker for the Annual Maine Law Enforcement Officers Service in Augusta. The Maine Chiefs of Police Association dedicated the granite memorial in 1991 to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

The officers on the memorial served as local police officers, in the warden service, for a sheriff’s department, at the border or with the Maine State Police.

The most recent name added to the memorial came in 2022, when many gathered to pay tribute to Hancock County Sheriff’s Deputy Luke Gross, who was killed in September 2021 when he was hit by a vehicle while picking up debris following an early morning traffic accident.

Auburn Police Chief Jason Moen honored the family members of those who died while serving others.

“Though we may grieve we must emphatically reject despair,” he said.

To the police officers in attendance and the 68 cadets who will graduate from the police academy on Friday, Moen asked that they give to their families as well as their communities.

“I also remind you that we in law enforcement must remain ever vigilant,” he said. “Your rank or position is not what is most important. Whether you are an administrator, investigator, supervisor or patrol officer, stay on your guard.”

Mills, who started her career as a county district attorney, then served as attorney general before becoming governor, said in a small state like Maine, many people know those whose names are inscribed on the memorial.

“We know who they were,” she said. “We dealt with them. They were witnesses in court for us. They saved a child or a kitten in a tree or they solved a robbery or an assault, they helped a victim.”