DRAPER, Utah -- A "Blue Mass" held Sunday morning served as a way for the Saint John the Baptist Church to send officers a message of appreciation and a prayer for safety, especially in the wake of the fatal shooting of Officer Doug Barney.
The Catholic ceremony held Sunday morning blessed those who work to keep Utah citizens safe.
Police who attended said it's been a rough couple of weeks since officer Barney's death, but also a bad time across the country. In fact, police say five officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last 48 hours.
They say they need those prayers.
"We appreciate what they do,” said Norbert Martinez, chairman for the Blue Mass. “They put their lives on the line all the time for all of us, and this is one little, tiny way to say, ‘Thank you.’”
Chief Bryan Roberts of the Draper Police Department said they are grateful for the support.
"This morning there were a lot of prayers towards law enforcement, and we can use every one of those prayers," he said. "And we really appreciate those, so we can keep ourselves safe, our families safe, and our communities safe."
This is the fourth year the church has held the Blue Mass. Event organizers said officers came to the service from many different areas and religious backgrounds, and from as far out as Tooele, Logan and even Vernal.
Draper police say it was especially touching to see Unified Police personnel at the service, so they could continue to feel that community support.
