Oxnard 5/14/08 David K. Yamamoto/Special to the Star The police chief of Oxnard, John Crombach shakes hands with Helen Conover and her huband Josh Conover who lost their son-in-law, Police Officer John Adair, killed on duty in 1980, after ninth annual Police Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.

Oxnard 5/14/08 David K. Yamamoto/Special to the Star Oxnard Police Officer Cliff Weir salutes with his fellow officers during the announcement of the names of the fallen police officers at the ninth annual Police Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.

Oxnard 5/14/08 David K. Yamamoto/Special to the Star Oxnard Police Officer, Charles Woodruff places a helmet on 3-year-old Grant Baysinger, son of an Oxnard police officer at the conclusion of the ninth annual Police Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.

Oxnard 5/14/08 David K. Yamamoto/Special to the Star Oxnard fire fighters, right to left, Jack Russo, Benny Sims, and Jamenes Madera lower their heads during a prayer at the ninth annual Police Memorial Ceremony, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.

The faces of the dead stared silently at the crowd gathered today in downtown Oxnard.

"We're here to remember the fallen and to show respect for surviving family members," Scott Whitney, Oxnard's assistant police chief, told the more than 150 people gathered outside the Public Safety Building at Third and C Streets for Oxnard's ninth annual police memorial ceremony.

Next to Whitney were the portraits of Oxnard police officers killed in the line of duty. Seven officers have died since the department was founded in 1903.

Law enforcement agencies across the nation are holding ceremonies this month to honor fallen officers. Thursday has been designated as National Police Memorial Day.

The Peace Officers Association of Ventura County will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. May 22 at the Government Center at Victoria Avenue and Telephone Road in Ventura.

"No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for a friend," Dan Green, a chaplain with the Oxnard Fire Department, said in a prayer at the Oxnard ceremony.

Oxnard police have been fortunate in not losing any officers since March 1996, when James R. Jensen Jr. was killed. Jensen was accidentally shot by another officer during a drug raid.

Nationwide, 181 officers were killed last year in the line of duty, Whitney said. It was one of the highest figures in recent history, according to the National Police Memorial Organization in Washington, D.C. In 2006, 151 officers died, which was the most since 2001.

The names of those who died in 2007 were added Tuesday to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington. In all, more than 18,200 names are inscribed on the memorial's walls.

Tom Holden said he attends many ceremonies as mayor of Oxnard, but none "have such a broad range of emotion" as the annual police memorial. The emotions range from sadness for the dead "to pride for the officers who serve the public" every day in Oxnard, Holden said.

Holden said officers readily put their lives on the line every day for people they don't know. "I want to thank the outstanding men and women of the Oxnard Police Department," he said.

Police Chief John Crombach said "we can never, ever repay the sacrifice" the officers made in giving their lives in the line of duty. "Our actions must honor those who died."

Deputy Constable Andrew McNaughton was the first Oxnard officer killed in the line of duty, shot in March 1906 as he walked through the China Alley area of downtown.

Constable William Kelley was the next victim, shot in August 1921 while serving a murder arrest warrant in Canoga Park.

Officer Albert Gasperetti died in April 1956 from injuries he suffered in a vehicle accident. Officer Frederick John Clark was shot and killed in October 1971 while on a domestic dispute call.

Senior Officer John Adair was fatally shot in October 1980, also while responding to a domestic dispute. Officer James O'Brien was shot and killed in December 1993 while pursuing a multiple-murder suspect.