OFFICER STRUCK, KILLED BY POLICE CRUISER HONORED

A Montgomery County police officer killed in the line of duty was honored on Tuesday when his name was inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Patrol Officer 1st Class Luke Hoffman, 24, was accidentally struck and killed by a patrol car driven by another officer in April 2007.

His name was added to the memorial during the annual Engraving Day ceremony, which honors the service and sacrifice of 18,274 officers whose names are inscribed there. Hoffman was among 358 fallen officers nationwide, including several in the D.C. area, whose names are being added to the memorial this spring.

All of the names will be formally dedicated during the 20th Annual Candlelight Vigil on May 13. Hoffman was pursuing a man suspected of driving under the influence on April 25, 2007, police said. When the man bailed out of his vehicle in Aspen Hill, Hoffman pursued him on foot and was struck by a police cruiser responding to the scene as he was crossing Old Georgia Avenue.

The officer driving the cruiser was also injured but survived. Hoffman was one of four law enforcement officers from Maryland who were killed in the line of duty during 2007.