On the 20th anniversary of Sterling Heights police officer Mark Sawyers being gunned down in an ambush shooting, his mother said the pain and shock over his death doesn’t subside with time.

Mark’s parents, Faith and R.J. Sawyers, returned home Wednesday from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where the 36th annual Candlelight Vigil was held by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for the country’s more than 24,000 police officers who died in the line of duty.

“It was a pretty somber mood,” Faith Sawyers said of the ceremony. “Just to see Mark’s name again inscribed up on the wall, brings it all back. It is real — he’s not coming back.”

On Thursday, the Sawyers family attended the Law Day memorial gathering outside of the Sterling Height Police Department that was attended by city officials, members of the police department, and relatives of local law enforcers who died in the line of duty.

Faith Sawyers said she tries to make the trip to Washington most every year, as do other relatives and friends of Mark, and attend local events where his memory is honored.

“Mark always wanted to be a cop,” she said. “Even though he had a teaching certificate, he wanted to be a cop.”

The 30-year-old officer was sitting in his patrol car at the parking lot of the former Showcase Cinemas on Van Dyke Avenue near 15 Mile Road on the night of June 4, 2004, finishing a police report for an unrelated traffic accident when he was fatally attacked.

A vehicle pulled up next to the patrol car and a male armed with a shotgun opened fire, striking the officer in the head. The suspect then stole Sawyers’ service weapon and fled.

Officer Sawyers was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his wounds the next morning. He is survived by his former wife, Yvonne, who has since remarried, his daughter Lilly, parents, and other family members.

Investigators said the suspect’s motive in the killing was to acquire a handgun. They eventually tracked down the killer in Jacksonville, Fla., where he committed suicide using Sawyers’ stolen service weapon as police were entering his house.

Mark Sawyers, a 1992 graduate of Hazel Park High School and a 2000 graduate of Wayne State University, was a former officer with the Detroit Police Department before he was hired in Macomb County.

“Mark made a lasting impression on his fellow officers in his brief time with our department,” Sterling Heights Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski said at Thursday’s gathering.

The department has lost two others in the line of duty including:

Leroy Imus was killed Dec. 12, 1971, after being involved in a hit-and-run accident during a traffic stop. He was survived by his wife, Nancy, and four children.

Capt. Norman Stozenfeld died Oct. 7, 1983, after serving with the department since 1966. He was survived by his wife, Eleanor, and his four children.

“To say ‘thank you’ will never be enough, but we are forever thankful,” the chief said.

Robert Wendt, a police department chaplain, agreed.

“For all of those who have lost a family member, friend, colleague in the line of duty, my heartfelt condolences are with you,” said Wendt, who serves as pastor of Fellowship Chapel in Sterling Heights.

Longtime City Manager Mark Vanderpool told the crowd he can empathize with the families as he and his wife are the parents of a Michigan State Police trooper. He said every day his son is on duty, he worries for the trooper’s safety.

“Some of the families here today know there is a real chance you risk your lives in this profession,” Vanderpool said. “You put your lives on the line to protect us, which is incredible commendable. The family members worry every second of your shift.”

During Police Memorial Week, which is observed May 11-17, some members of the Sterling Heights Police Honor Guard make to the trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in activities. Five officers also ride their bicycles from New Jersey to Washington to raise awareness and money for the National Law Enforcement Memorial.

This year, the names of 282 officers who died in 2023 were engraved on the memorial wall, including two from Michigan.

One of those was Robert Silver, a court officer for the 72nd District Court in St. Clair County. He was shot and killed while serving an eviction notice in Clay Township.