BATON ROUGE - The mother of a fallen Shreveport police officer said she found comfort in Monday's prayer rally for law enforcement officers held on the state Capitol steps in.

Jackie LaValley is the mother of Officer Thomas LaValley, who was shot to death in early August when responding to a report of a suspicious person.

"It's still sad because he'll never come home," she said.

Officer Lavalley is one of nine Louisiana law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty this year. He was also a native of Ascension Parish.

Governor Bobby Jindal declared Monday a statewide day of prayer for law enforcement.

"Each day these officers make a conscious decision, when they put on their uniforms, to courageously walk out in the face of danger," Jindal said at the prayer rally.

LaValley said she hopes the prayers will prevent future tragedies. "Other people who might think about doing something like this will stop and think about it," she said.