San Joaquin Co. Deputy Sheriff Association

“We need to encourage collaboration between cops and residents to send a message to criminals that there will be no place to hide in our county. Law enforcement is confident that Steve Ding will make public safety a top priority for San Joaquin County as supervisor.”

Brian McElwain
President, San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff ’s Association

Supervisor Steve Ding

Memorial Day is a day with one purpose. To remember.

General John A. Logan issued the proclamation establishing Decoration Day in 1868, and after World War I it was expanded from honoring Civil War casualties to honoring the American military fallen from every conflict. In 1971, Congress officially declared it a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May. A tradition that began with flowers on graves is now observed by more than 330 million Americans each year.

Our personnel are out across the community today maintaining security so that every cemetery visit, every memorial service, and every family gathering can happen without incident. They show up on days like this because that is what this profession asks of them.

Comment below with the name of a fallen service member you are honoring today.

Today is Peace Officer Memorial Day, and our association is pausing to honor it the right way.

On October 1, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726, officially designating May 15 as the day this nation recognizes law enforcement personnel killed or disabled in the line of duty. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, an average of 150 to 160 law enforcement professionals are killed in the line of duty every year in the United States.

In observance of this day, we are running a fundraising drive. Financial stability for surviving families is not a bonus. It is a responsibility we take seriously.

https://sjcdsa.com/donate?utm_source=facebook_helpers&utm_medium=post&utm_term=com

Please share this post and help us reach every corner of this community today.

Some losses are too large to fully comprehend. Today is Children of Fallen Patriots Day, and it asks us to sit with one of those losses for a moment.

An estimated 25,000 children have lost a parent in military service over the last 35 years. May 13 was selected as the observance date because it marks the establishment of Arlington National Cemetery in 1864, a permanent reminder of what military service can cost. The Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation has awarded over 82 million dollars in scholarships to more than 4,000 of these children since 2002.

Our association understands what it means to lose someone in the line of duty. We stand with these families today and encourage our community to do the same.

This is National Police Week, and we want to make sure it means more than a hashtag.

National Police Week 2026 runs from May 11 through May 17, featuring memorial ceremonies, survivor-focused events, honor guard tributes, and community gatherings across Washington D.C

The professionals our association represents are the people who answer the call when you cannot. They miss birthdays, holidays, and milestones because the job does not stop for any of it. The ones we are honoring this week did not get to come home, and the families they left behind carry that every single day.

This week is for them. It is also for every member out on shift right now who continues their work.

If you have a first responder in your life, tell them this week you see what they do.

Share this post and help us make sure National Police Week reaches every community that needs to hear it.

Today is Mother's Day, and we want to take a moment to actually mean it.

Anna Jarvis, who campaigned for the holiday's creation, later spent years fighting to keep it from becoming too commercialized. By the 1920s she was publicly critical of the greeting card industry and even called for the holiday to be removed from the national calendar. She believed it was meant to be a personal, sincere expression, not a commercial event. It is a reminder that the original intent was simple: stop and recognize the people who give more than they are given credit for.

Our members working shifts today are serving this community while missing time with their own families. That sacrifice is worth acknowledging today just as much as everything else.

Comment below and recognize a mother in your life who makes this work possible.