“Officer Down” song to be performed in DC in honor of Richmond Police Officer

Nashville singer/songwriter and UK alum Hannah Ellis’s wrote the song “Officer Down” with her two friends. It’s in honor of her cousin, Richmond Police Officer Daniel Ellis. She will be performing it in front of thousands of officers and family members of the fallen on Sunday who have been arriving in DC for the several memorial events lined up this weekend for National Police Week.

On the itinerary, tonight there will be a candlelight vigil at the National mall. Saturday  there will be an Emerald Society & Pipe Band March and Service, a National Police Survivors Conference, and the 15th Annual Steve Young National Honor Guard Competition. Sunday is the main event, Peace Officers Memorial Day, where officers like Ellis will be honored for their sacrifice.  Their names will be revealed on the 304-foot long marble Peace Officers Memorial Wall.

Hannah Ellis’s song “Officer Down” will be sung towards the end of that ceremony when wreathes are being laid down to honor those who have fallen. We spoke with Hannah via Skype on her car ride down to DC. The song is told from the perspective of officer Ellis’s wife Katie when she received the dreadful call,  that her husband was shot in the line of duty.

Ellis says, “I think in this culture today it would be great for people to hear this song and say you know what these guys are going out there everyday and risking their lives. So that we can live and be safe and not have to think about it.”

“Officer Down” is available for purchase on iTunes. Hannah says she hopes it will resonate with anyone one and everyone going though a tough time, to know that they are not alone.