La Mesa police Officer Lauren Craven was among the 109 names of officers killed in 2025 and read aloud during a ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
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A group of 18 officers from the La Mesa Police Department attended the event, along with a handful of Craven’s former colleagues, mentors and family members.
The 25-year-old officer died Oct. 20 after she was struck by a vehicle on the side of Interstate 8 near Waring Road while she was responding to help people involved in an earlier crash. Another driver at the scene, 19-year-old De’Veonte Morris, also died.
During Friday’s event, thousands gathered near the memorial — located north of the U.S. Capitol building — and heard Vice President JD Vance speak about the courage and dedication that the fallen officers demonstrated before their deaths while on the job last year.
La Mesa police Capt. Katy Lynch, who attended Friday, described the event as “surreal.”
“It’s just staggering … to see all the other law enforcement agencies from around the country and the families who’ve lost a loved one,” Lynch said. “There’s a mutual feeling of understanding one another, because it’s only something you can know if you’ve gone through it.”
During the event, the honor guard gave a presentation of colors, a band played “Taps,” other musicians performed and a 21-gun salute rang out. The names of the officers were included in a roll call, and their families were invited to lay a flower on a wreath at the front of the crowd.
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Craven’s name was then unveiled, inscribed on a wall that includes the names of 24,000 officers who died in the line of duty throughout U.S. history, dating back to the first known death in 1786.
“I was on our honor guard team for some time, we go to events like this. But when it happens to your own officer … It’s just a different feeling,” Lynch said. “It’s surreal to hear the name of a La Mesa police officer during the national event.”
The event on Friday was one of a handful that have been held during this year’s National Police Week, an annual period of mourning that recognizes fallen officers throughout the country.
Craven was recognized last week when her name was read during an event in Sacramento, as well as during a ceremony that added her name to the San Diego County Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in front of the County Administration Center. A day later, the La Mesa Police Department held its own ceremony in front of the station.
Lynch said it was important to hold these events in order to remind the community, as well as the department, about who Craven was and what she gave her life for.
“We try and honor Lauren every day, by putting on the uniform and going to work, continuing to do what she loved to do, what she worked hard to do,” Lynch said. “But I think for each of us it’s tough.”
