CHARLESTON S.C. (WCBD) – Community members and leaders gathered at the Charleston Police Department (CPD) headquarters Friday to celebrate the opening of the new memorial to honor the fallen officers.

The memorial, which took nearly three years to complete, will honor the men and women of CPD who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The idea was spearheaded by former Chief Luther Reynolds, who served as chief for five years before his passing in May. As the wall was unveiled, Reynolds’ officers and wife were there to see his final act serving as chief become a reality.

“Luther, my husband just loved officers and policing and he felt so strong about making sure they honored those that fallen. He wasn’t done here. This was just one of the many initiatives he wanted to bring to the department. The department keeps doing more and more things to support these officers. I know my husband is smiling down on us and this memorial,” said Caroline Reynolds.

This project was funded by Law Enforcement Neighborhood Safety (LENS) Foundation which provides the agency with “support to strengthen community relations and improve public safety in Charleston.”

Interim chief Chito Walker, who spoke on behalf of all officers, said a memorial highlighting the sacrifices of fallen officers is the perfect way to honor Chief Reynolds’ legacy.

”This is a big honor for us to be able to recognize them it was a vision of Chief Reynolds. We talked about it for a long time, so now, for it to come to foliation, it’s complete for us. Anything that we can do to thank the officers that sacrificed their lives on a daily base to serve this community, that’s what we’re going to do, and this is the continuation of that,” said Walker.