The Connecticut State Police added the names of three fallen police officers, including Trooper Kevin Miller, to the Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial in Meriden Thursday.

Miller, 49, died while on duty March 29 in a collision with a tractor trailer on I-84 in Tolland.

The ceremony Thursday also recognized Newtown Officer Stephen Ketchum and Danbury Constable Frederick Ellis.

Ketchum was one of the many officers and firefighters who went to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack at the World Trade Center to aid in search and rescue efforts. He died in 2016 of lung cancer directly attributed to harmful toxins he was exposed to during his work there, said Dora Schriro, commissioner of the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

Ellis died in 1964 of a heart attack while working at the scene of a fire, she said.

Watertown Police Chief John Gavallas, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said the yearly memorial is a remembrance and a pledge of support to the families of those who have died in service to their communities.

“Sadly today we add three additional names to this memorial, to the roll of honor,” Gavallas said.

“As we reflect on those events that ended in such tragedy, we ask ‘Why?’ Why my son, why my daughter, why my husband, my father, my mother,” Gavallas said. “If only he or she was not working that day. If only that call never came in which they responded to. Of course we can’t answer any of those questions. However, we can take pride in the fact they answered the call. They were one of America’s finest.”

Hundreds of police officers, family and friends attended a wake and funeral for Miller in early April, where Miller was remembered as a family man and a Marine Corps veteran with a strong work ethic.

He was a 19-year veteran and was eligible to retire later this year. He is survived by his children Sarah, 10 and Ryan, 13.

Officials said the yearly memorial service in Meriden offers a reminder of the dangers police officers face while serving their communities.

The Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial at the police academy honors fallen officers from any law enforcement agency in the state. There are now 143 officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies recognized at the memorial.

The crash that killed Miller is still being investigated. State police have said the crash occurred when Miller’s cruiser struck the back of a slow-moving truck.

Miller was assigned to Troop C in Tolland.

Schriro said she recently heard a story about a call Miller handled in Ashford a few months before his death. On the scene, a man was brandishing a knife in what officers suspected was an attempt to commit “suicide by cop,” she said.

Miller and another trooper were able to subdue the man without lethal force, and the incident showed Miller’s professionalism, teamwork and good judgment, she said.

“It speaks volumes about his approach to policing and indeed how all of law enforcement in Connecticut keeps its commitment to community,” Schriro said. “It’s a story about all of you.”