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NATIONAL POLICE WEEK
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Auchincloss). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, in 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week of May 15 as National Police Week. Established in 1962 by a joint resolution of this body, National Police Week pays special recognition to law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
My home State of Florida, during 2020, lost 19 law enforcement officers, and we gather today to honor their memory and to thank them for their service. We thank all law enforcement officers across the Nation who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and we remember those who are out there patrolling our communities to keep us all safe.
I want to thank my colleagues for joining us today to give honor to whom honor is due. Mr. Speaker, many have given much, but these men and women--our law enforcement officers--have given all.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran), who is a former law enforcement officer.
Mr. O'HALLERAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
I rise today to join my colleagues to honor National Police Week. I became a police officer when I was very young--20 years old. Many of the calls I responded to still stand in sharp relief in my memory.
Today, as we honor the many who have fallen while serving our communities, I first want to talk about a couple of friends of mine, Sergeant James Severin and Patrolman Tony Rizzato. They were my friends and colleagues who were killed by snipers as they were participating in a walk and talk program, an exercise designed to help police better get to know the communities they serve.
I think of my dear friend, Erwin Jackson, a patrolman, who just months before Severin and Rizzato had passed away, had saved my life while we were arresting a man wanted for murder. Erwin was killed in the line of duty while his partner attempted to disarm an offender with a gun. Their losses have left indelible marks on me.
Now as a Representative for Arizona's First District, I have known the pain of losing the hardworking men and women serving our State. Just before I started my first term in Washington, Show Low Officer Darrin Reed was killed in a hostage altercation attempting to save the life of a 15-year-old girl from her captor.
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His loss shook an entire Arizona community and is a testament to his service and his kindness. I remember talking to his family at his memorial.
In February of last year, we lost White Mountain Apache Officer David Kellywood in the line of duty. On the day we laid him to rest, blue and black ribbons and American flags lined our State highways.
The loss of too many good officers working on the front lines this past year has left unbearable empty chairs at kitchen tables across our States and families that are suffering.
The officers I work with in Arizona's First District are kind, honest men and women who were drawn to service for the sake of others. At the end of the day, their names are too great to count and the sacrifices they have made too many.
As we honor this week, we also recognize the changes that must be made to our policing system to ensure that those who have sworn to protect and serve are held to the highest standards, and we, as Congress, must help with that.
We must rebuild broken trust between police and our communities and work in bipartisan ways to do so.
That is the type of police I worked with, many of us have, and we want to see that those officers who are participating in that type of community continue to work.
As a former officer, a member of the bipartisan Law Enforcement Caucus, and the sponsor of several bills to reform policing and better keep our communities and our officers safe, this week is not one I take lightly.
We must continue to honor the good, honest officers who have laid down their lives in the line of duty. We must also work toward equal rights, justice, and treatment for all Americans in our criminal justice system. Those goals can go hand in hand if we put aside our differences and work together.
Above all, today, we mourn and remember all those we have lost and hope that our words will offer comfort to their families.
As we keep close in our hearts the loved ones of our fallen officers, we also think of the families across our Nation who have lost loved ones to senseless violence.
Mrs. DEMINGS. We are able to be here today, Mr. Speaker, to conduct the people's business because of the good men and women who protect us in the U.S. Capitol, the men and women who wear the uniform and the badge every day.
Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor to yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that we stand and speak on behalf of the law enforcement community of our country. As the former chief of the Orlando Police just said, it is because of them that we have law and order.
Democracy cannot survive without law and order. So, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings) for leading this Special Order hour and for so many Democrats and Republicans participating. She is, as so many Americans now know, not only an outstanding Member of the Congress but also a former chief of police for the city of Orlando, Florida, and, I might say, a serious candidate considered by President Biden for Vice President of the United States.
She is not the only one in our Caucus who has worked in law enforcement or overseen police departments as mayor, but certainly one of the most experienced.
As we observe National Police Week this year, we do so at a time when we are engaged in a critical national conversation about justice in policing. Tonight, we want to make it clear: This important dialogue does not detract one iota from the deep and abiding respect that all of us--Democrats, Republicans, independents, Americans--have for the men and women who dedicate their careers in law enforcement to protecting their communities, their neighbors, their friends.
I do not believe, I want to make it clear, in defunding police. That is neither my view nor my party's platform. Indeed, we honor law enforcement.
Over the years, I have been proud to join my Democratic colleagues as a strong supporter of law enforcement and to raise awareness of the very serious dangers that police officers face while doing their jobs.
Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson, in 1998, were slain, one in my office and one outside the door of my office. They were brave and good people who lost their lives defending the Capitol of the United States.
In my State of Maryland and the Fifth District, I have worked closely with police chiefs, sheriffs, and departments to ensure that their needs are being met. Together, we have worked to make certain that the families of those who fell in the line of duty received the benefits, help, compassion, and appreciation they deserve.
Every year--until it became virtual, and now I do it virtually--I have gone down to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. 22,611 Americans, law enforcement officers, have lost their lives keeping the peace.
Last year, Mr. Speaker, America lost 295 police officers in the line of duty. It is a dangerous duty, but it is a critical duty.
Here in the Capitol, we will remember those who have given their lives to protect this institution, including Officer Chestnut, Detective Gibson, Officer Howard Liebengood, Officer William Evans, and, of course, Officer Brian Sicknick.
The actions just laid out are ones that Congress, House Democrats, believe are important to protecting those who keep us safe every day. But I believe, Mr. Speaker, it is equally essential for the efficacy and safety of law enforcement to take positive and proactive steps to ensure accountability and rebuild trust in our departments.
That is true of our institution, Mr. Speaker. When we hold accountable one of our Members, as we have done, it does not besmirch the rest of our Members. No one ought to simplify that one is like all.
To do that, we must continue the important national conversations about justice in policing and rooting out racial bias that corrodes effective police work.
The majority, Mr. Speaker, of principled police officers are among those most concerned about ensuring that those who cannot properly and responsibly carry out their work of policing are held accountable. That is why we passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Congress has a responsibility to deal with this challenge not only for the sake of justice and public safety but also in order to help police departments better carry out their missions and to raise the respect and support they receive from the American public.
Such a policy is not designed to defund police or to lessen the impact of the vital function that law enforcement officers perform.
So, as we join in observing Police Week this year, let us remember all those 22,000-plus, those 295, the brave men and women protecting us and the peacefulness of our communities. Let us continue to support law enforcement by striving to help police officers and departments face this moment head-on and emerge stronger, safer, more trusted, and better equipped to keep all Americans safe.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor to yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson), a former law enforcement officer.
Mr. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, the Representative who we affectionately call Chief Demings, for organizing this Special Order hour. You don't get many friends like Congresswoman Demings. She is a true leader; she is thoughtful; and she is a true public servant.
I join her, Mr. Speaker, this National Police Week to honor and remember the officers who lost their lives last year in the line of duty.
I can remember, years ago, traveling with my colleagues from the Indiana State Excise Police to honor my colleague's dad, who passed away in a high-speed pursuit on State Road 231. He was the sheriff, Sheriff Jim Baugh of Putnam County, and we came out here years ago to honor Mr. Baugh.
Though nothing can bring back the lives that have been lost or ease the collective grief we feel, we take comfort in knowing that we will never forget them or the sacrifices they have made.
We pledge, Mr. Speaker, to keep their legacy alive through our efforts to improve policing for every community, for all Americans.
As a former law enforcement officer, this priority is deeply personal. I want to pay special tribute to all the law enforcement officers in my district who are working to keep our city safe and build greater trust with the neighborhoods they serve.
I also want to honor the Hoosier officers statewide who have lost their lives. One such officer I would like to recognize is Officer Breann Leath, an Indianapolis Metro Police Department officer who was shot and killed last April while responding to a domestic disturbance.
She was 24 years old, Mr. Speaker, a veteran of the National Guard, the mother of a young son, and part of a family and a proud legacy of law enforcement. She had her whole life and a great career ahead of her, only to have it tragically cut short.
Today and every day, Mr. Speaker, we honor her and those like her who have been killed in the line of duty.
Mr. Speaker, I would also be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to recognize the countless Americans who we have lost to police brutality.
In Indianapolis alone, and in communities across our country, the list grows longer each day. We must honor their memory and commit to enacting reforms that save lives in the future.
Now, let's be clear, Mr. Speaker. We are not advocating for these reforms in order to punish police or to make their jobs harder. We also want to improve their lives as well. We want to provide police with better training and the right resources. We want to help police build stronger and healthier relationships with the communities they serve.
We also want police to be able to focus on keeping the peace and relieve them of their many other duties that they are expected to do even when they are not trained or equipped to carry out these additional duties.
As a former law enforcement officer and as a Black man who has been the victim of police excess and misconduct, it is clear to me that these changes are desperately needed.
We can improve policing and save lives by passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The House has done its work and passed it twice, last year and this year. Now, the Senate must be bold and pass it as soon as possible so President Biden can sign it into law.
Thank you again to all the law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep Americans safe, and a special thanks to those we have lost.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos), who comes from a law enforcement family.
Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Demings for putting this together. We are grateful to her.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize National Police Week. I stand here today with my heart full of gratitude, gratitude for the brave police officers who saved our lives, who saved the lives of the staff who were here on January 6, who saved our Nation from suffering further harm at the hands of those who would see our democracy destroyed.
It was January 6, and many of us stood on this floor. I was with many of the people here today that afternoon when the armed mob broke into our Nation's Capitol and threatened us, targeted us, hunted us.
The moment they reached that door right there, the one just a few rows back, and began to shatter the glass on that door, there was just a handful of police officers who bravely stood in their way.
It was in that moment that my thoughts were as a mother, as a daughter, as a citizen. Thoughts of legislation and budgets and parliamentary rules were not on my mind.
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What I wanted to do that day, and those of us who were on the floor that day, we just wanted to live. But it was our Capitol Police officers who stood up, stepped up, and fought back that mob. They protected all of us that day. They put their lives on the line. One even made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us and to keep our democracy safe.
It wasn't until after those terrifying moments, when we reached a secure room, that I saw a text from my husband, who is the sheriff of Rock Island County, where we live and have lived for 30-plus years. He reminded me that the Capitol Police were there to protect us, and to listen to them. He could not have been more right.
Shortly after that day, after we returned to the Chamber where our lives had been in jeopardy, I shared my experiences. Here is what I wrote: ``I feel sure that the Capitol Police saved countless lives. I don't think that America yet fully comprehends just how close we came to seeing Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate kidnapped, held hostage, or perhaps even murdered. That mob had lethal intent.''
But it is because of our Capitol Police, because they risked their lives, because Brian Sicknick gave his life, that I could walk through that door and stand here on this floor today and speak to you. I speak with gratitude.
Earlier this year, I was proud to vote to pass a bill awarding the Capitol Police a Congressional Gold Medal. It is my hope that the Senate will pass this legislation soon. But, today, I am so proud to be able to stand here to recognize National Police Week, a week to say thank you and to recognize those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
This year, 394 names were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Thank you to those 394 officers. Thank you to the nine Illinois police officers whose lives were part of that list. And as the wife of a sheriff, let me say that 394 is too many, and 9 is too many.
Thank you to my husband of--35 years?
I am sorry; I think that is right, Gerry, if you are watching.
Thank you to my husband. He has been in law enforcement for 38 years. I do know that number. Thank you for his service to our community and his career in law enforcement.
Thank you to the men and women in law enforcement who sacrifice and serve and protect others every single day.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, because they are willing to risk their lives without hesitation, my colleagues and I honor them today.
To continue the tribute, it is now my honor to yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes), who is also from a law enforcement family.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice and have fallen in the line of duty.
My husband, Detective Milford Hayes, has been on the job for 25 years. I know all too well the risk officers accept when they take this role. I have lived the anxiety of not knowing if my loved one would return home from a shift. I have watched my husband put on his dress blues and attend the funerals of fallen officers and mourn in the weeks and years after that. Over the past year, I have borne witness to the difficulty caused by growing mistrust between police departments and the communities they serve.
In addition to honoring officers this week, we must commit to rebuilding that trust and to providing them with the necessary funding they need to safely and equitably protect themselves and our community.
This is not a binary choice. Yes, we have systemic racial and social injustices that must be addressed. Yes, accountability needs to be addressed.
But on this day, in these remarks, during National Police Week, I ask my colleagues to join me in committing to supporting all of the good officers that are out there, to ensuring officers have clear national guidelines regarding use of force, to providing access to diversity training, and to ensuring departments have necessary supports to serve communities with underlying social challenges.
This will protect both police officers and the communities they serve from unnecessary violence. This will also attract new officers to the profession.
I ask that we honor fallen officers by committing to action. We must provide the necessary guidelines, training, and social services required to support our communities and to guarantee the safety of law enforcement.
We must ensure that my husband and every officer makes it home to their families safely.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my honor to yield to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Mrs. Lee).
Mrs. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congresswoman Demings for her leadership and for leading this tribute to all of our police officers across this country during National Police Week.
I would like to take this moment to recognize our Nevada officers who have fallen. In particular, I want to honor two officers who we lost in this past year alone.
We remember Lieutenant Erik Lloyd, a 30-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Every day during this pandemic, our men and women have stepped up to serve in the line of duty, no matter the danger. We honor their commitment in a time of uncertainty.
And we mourn the loss of Lieutenant Lloyd, who contracted COVID-19 while on the job. Lieutenant Lloyd was the definition of selfless. He went to work every single day to protect his community. And on top of that, he went above and beyond, becoming the president of the Injured Police Officers Fund. In that role, Lloyd raised funds for the care of countless officers, including Metro Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was left paralyzed after being shot this summer during a demonstration on the Las Vegas Strip.
We also take this time to recognize Sergeant Benjamin Michael Jenkins, a military veteran, firefighter, and EMT officer with the Nevada Highway Patrol. Sergeant Jenkins was dedicated to reducing impaired driving and fatal crashes. In 2011, he was honored with the Department of Public Safety's highest honor, the Gold Medal of Valor, after he came under fire during a domestic-related shooting in Wells, Nevada.
His life, unfortunately, was cut short when he was shot and killed while checking on a driver pulled over on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 93, just north of Ely.
Their service to Nevada is incomparable.
To their friends, families, and fellow officers, I extend my deepest sympathies and prayers. Nevada stands with you. I express my extreme gratitude for the safety and dedication to service that Lieutenant Lloyd and Sergeant Jenkins, along with all other officers, have brought to our communities.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), a former Federal law enforcement officer.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National Police Week.
Each May, our Nation comes together to recognize the service and profound commitment of our police officers, to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to recommit ourselves to the ideals and laws of our Nation that these fine men and women in uniform are tasked to uphold.
But the dedication and sacrifices of our brave officers deserves to be respected and honored, not just in one week out of the year, but every single day, both in this Chamber and across our country.
Time and time again, officers across our Nation are met with the greatest threats of danger, and they face them with the greatest displays of courage, honor, and dignity.
Mr. Speaker, my great-uncle, Philip Fitzpatrick, was a proud patrolman with the NYPD. He was also a poet, often writing about the world he knew as--what he referred to--a soldier of peace.
As I have taken time to reflect during this police week, I found myself thinking of him and a line from one of his poems: ``When he kisses his wife and children good-bye, there's a chance he will see them no more.''
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, these words were true for my family and for so many families in our Nation.
This month marks 74 years since my great-uncle Phil was shot while attempting to disarm a robber at a Manhattan bar, a fatal injury he succumbed to days later.
While the times have changed, the dangers faced by our law enforcement community remain present every time they go to work.
Bucks County and my community is home to some of the finest law enforcement officers in our great Nation. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, we have lost too many.
I would like to take a moment to honor our valiant fallen officers: Police Officer James K. Armstrong; Deputy Sheriff Thomas A. Bateman; Ranger Thomas Booz; Ranger Stanley E. Flynn; Police Officer Brian S. Gregg; Police Officer Joseph E. Hanusey, III; Detective Christopher C. Jones; Constable Henry A. Kolbe; Sheriff Abraham Kulp; Police Chief Eli M. Myers; Police Sergeant George M. Stuckey; Deputy Sheriff George M. Warta, Jr.; and Police Officer Robert Yezzi.
Mr. Speaker, these 13 individuals laid their lives on the line to protect our community, the community that I grew up in, the community that I love, and they paid the ultimate price. We will never forget them and their extraordinary service to our community. We owe them and their families and all of the honorable police officers and public servants who have given their lives in the line of duty a debt of gratitude and appreciation, one that can only be paid back through our love and support for them here on this floor and across our Nation.
Our Nation, indeed, our world, is in the midst of unprecedented times. Now, more than ever, our courageous and honorable law enforcement officers need our support. I encourage everyone to take a minute this week to thank a police officer and reflect on the sacrifices so many of them have made.
To our hero law enforcement officers in every town, in every city, and in every State across America: We thank you, we are grateful for you, and we love you.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin).
Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Demings, for holding this Special Order hour in honor of fallen law enforcement officers.
It is National Police Week, a time to recognize and honor the men and women who have answered the call to protect and serve our community. Their service puts them in harm's way every single day, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their willingness to sacrifice for us.
Last November, it was my privilege to speak in this Chamber in honor of Caleb Starr, a Michigan State Police Trooper from my district, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a call. I spoke about the community of Mason, Michigan, where he was born and raised, coming together to support the Starr family.
Tonight, I am proud to recognize an organization in my district that has continuously provided support to the loved ones of our fallen officers.
The 100 Club of Greater Lansing was founded in 1984, after the death of Officer James Johnson of the East Lansing Police Department. Every year, Members of the 100 Club contribute dues of $100 to provide immediate assistance, as well as long-term support, to surviving families of those who have died in the line of duty.
In the nearly 40 years the 100 Club has been doing its work, it has helped the family of Officer Johnson, as well as the families of Officer Dean Whitehead of the Lansing Police Department; Officer Julie Engelhardt of the Lansing Parks Police Department; Sergeant Paul Cole of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office; Deputy Grant Whitaker of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office; and so many others.
In addition, the 100 Club keeps the spirit of those heroes alive by establishing a scholarship fund for qualified survivors, providing an annual honor award to officers, and funding an annual scholarship for a student enrolled at the Mid-Michigan Police Academy at Lansing Community College, where I visited just a couple of months ago.
During National Police Week, we honor fallen heroes who have given their lives while on duty. To them we owe so much. As long as we keep their memory alive, they remain with us. With these words, they will remain in the permanent Record of the people's House so that their contributions can live on.
I am grateful for their selfless courage and for my colleagues tonight who have served. Thank you for taking the time to honor, respect, and remember them.
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Mrs. DEMINGS. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Swalwell), also from a law enforcement family.
Mr. SWALWELL. Thank you, Chief Demings. Law enforcement families know the prayer from Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9, ``Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.''
And blessed are the California police officers who lost their lives in 2020: Oscar Walter Rocha from my district in Alameda County, Daniel Lopez Mendoza, III; Andy Ornelas, Efren Coronel, Jose Cruz Mora, Jr., Angel De La Fuente, Larry D. Crom, Donald Keith Sumner, Virgil Lynn Thomas, Harry M. Cohen, Terrell Don Young, Daniel Gene Walters, Damon Christopher Gutzwiller, and MaryLou Hernandez Armer, as well as Pat Underwood of the Federal Protective Services.
As a member of a law enforcement family, when we say good-bye to each other on the phone, we always say, ``I love you,'' but we also say,
``Be safe,'' because we know what our law enforcement officers encounter when they go into a domestic violence call or make a police stop in an area where there have been robberies, gang violence, drugs.
In Oakland, California, four officers were killed in a matter of minutes after a police stop, when I was a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's office. We know the risk they face.
I have a family member who has been shot at and was told that from such a point blank nature he is lucky to be alive.
We are grateful for the sacrifices of law enforcement. We also recognize that the best way to protect the best cops is to make sure that we put in place reforms to take care of those who do not meet the standards that we expect from law enforcement.
We are committed in this Chamber to work to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to make sure that we protect our cops on the streets and we protect those in the community who they also promise and swear an oath to protect.
This police week, let me also just urge my colleagues across the aisle, who I know are sincere when they want to stand up for police officers, to recognize that the police officers who walk the beat in these halls are hurting, and they are grieving, and what happened on January 6 has not just passed, and when they hear colleagues in this Chamber say, as one said today that January 6 looked like any other normal tourist visit to the Capitol, that really hurts them. That hurts their families. It is an insult to their service, and we must do better, because backing the blue doesn't just mean backing the blue who back you, it means backing the blue who protect this Chamber and protect our democracy.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton).
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during National Police Week to honor the life U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howie Liebengood. Howie served as a Capitol police officer for 15 years and before that as a Senate page. He continued a 50-year family legacy of service to the Senate, following in the footsteps of his father, a former Senate Sergeant at Arms.
Howie died by suicide on January 9, after working around the clock in the days following the January 6 insurrection, defending our Capitol and the Members, staff, workers, journalists, and others inside of it. There is no doubt that Howie would still be with us today but for the events on and immediately following January 6.
And yet, the leaders Howie served under at the Capitol Police still refuse to acknowledge his tragic loss as a line-of-duty death, despite his heroic sacrifice on that day and in the days that followed. Howie's widow, Serena, and his family deserve better.
Our Capitol Police deserve better, too. The PTSD and trauma of January 6 and April 2 are still prevalent for U.S. Capitol police officers. The reluctance many officers feel asking for help is real as well. Leadership is failing these officers when they refuse to validate the pain of that trauma and the tragic consequences it can lead to.
That is why we must provide U.S. Capitol police officers with the resources they need to take care of themselves and to fight the stigma not only for them, but for law enforcement officers around the country to know that it is okay to ask for help.
According to a report from the nonprofit Blue H.E.L.P., the number of officers who died by suicide in recent years has outpaced those killed in the line of duty.
It is incumbent on us as lawmakers to end the stigma around law enforcement mental health and to give these officers the support they need in times of crisis. We must thank them not just with our words, but with our actions.
I have been working with my colleagues and with the Liebengood family to honor Howie's legacy of service to our Capitol community. To Serena, his family, and all those who knew and loved Howie, I hope it brings you some solace to know that Howie's life and sacrifice will never be forgotten by those of us here who he gave his life to protect.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Thank you so much for that tribute. I now yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus. We are so grateful for the work that he is doing.
Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, it is not unusual for Congresswoman Demings to lead and bring us together. I want to congratulate and thank her for her service in the past and now.
Mr. Speaker, during this devastating pandemic, our Nation's law enforcement officers have stood heroically on the front lines, keeping communities across America safe. Our police have risked their lives and the lives of their families every day they go to work. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Since the start of the pandemic, we have lost over 464 officers, including 298 to COVID-19. In New Jersey, 15 officers have perished, including 13 to the virus.
In my own district, we lost Paterson police officer, Frank Scorpo, who was only 34 years old and left behind a wife and two young sons.
We lost Detective Anthony Lucanto, a 24-year veteran of the Paterson Police Department, who died of cancer tied to his heroic efforts at Ground Zero. Anthony leaves behind his wife and three children.
Our hearts bleed for all of our fallen officers and their families.
As the co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, I was proud to champion legislation signed into law to ensure those families of officers fallen to COVID-19 are guaranteed public safety officer benefits. But more must be done to support families of officers who make the ultimate sacrifice.
Earlier this month, we introduced the bipartisan Protecting America's First Responders Act. Our bill will guarantee first responders and their families get their owed benefits without delay or red tape. I hope it gets passed.
I wish I could say support of law enforcement is fully bipartisan, but I can't. Incredibly, when we passed the latest Capitol Police budget, 50 of our colleagues on the other side voted ``no.'' Thank God for those who did vote ``yes.''
When we voted to certify the Presidential election, hours after terrorists attacked the Capitol, 138 Members on the other side voted to throw out the election. 138. These votes are a slur on the Capitol Police and the officers across America who have given their lives.
This last year has been a difficult one for all communities, but unbearable for our men and women in uniform. They have protected us at our lowest moment. The least we can do is protect the benefits they have earned and stand by them.
Let us move what was started almost 20 years ago, community policing, so we protect our police and we encourage trust in them day in and day out. God bless our country.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Thank you again to the chair of the Law Enforcement Caucus.
I now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez).
Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor our brave and selfless law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty in south Texas this past year: Jorge Cabrera, Ismael Chavez, Edelmiro Garza, Jr. Let us not forget those who stood guard at our border and kept us safe: Carlos Mendoza, Juan Ollervidez, Christopher Carney, Roel De La Fuente, and Enrique Rositas.
Madam Speaker, I would like to take a brief moment of silence to pay my respects to those law enforcement officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our community safe.
My community and I owe a deep amount of gratitude to these officers who sought to keep us safe. I thank them, and may God bless and watch over our law enforcement officers, their families, and the United States of America.
Mrs. DEMINGS. I thank the gentleman from Texas for that tribute to our law enforcement officers. I now yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Phillips).
Mr. PHILLIPS. I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding and for organizing this important Special Order hour.
As a Gold Star son who lost his father in the Vietnam War, I empathize with and salute the honorable men and women who don a uniform and risk their lives and too often lose their lives protecting our country and our communities, oftentimes without the appreciation or support that they need and that they deserve.
So I rise today to express gratitude to the over 11,000 police officers who serve and protect the residents of my home State of Minnesota, an overwhelming majority of whom are compassionate and principled public servants.
I am proud of the law enforcement agencies that serve Hennepin and Carver counties in Minnesota's Third District, innovative and well-led police departments committed to building cultures and communities in which everyone, and I repeat everyone, feels safe.
People like Dawanna Witt, whose remarkable life story of perseverance embodies the very best of our law enforcement community. Ms. Witt grew up surrounded by alcoholism and drug addiction, was subject to sexual abuse, had her first baby at age 15, and lived with her newborn in a homeless shelter.
But she finished high school with honors, then received her bachelor's degree and then her master's. And today she is known as Major Witt, a grandmother of two, supervisor of 500 employees at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and a rising star in Minnesota law enforcement.
Major Witt will be the first to tell you that we do need police reform, that systemic racism does exist, and that racial profiling is a real thing. She will also tell you that we need to do more to protect officers' safety.
So, today I invite my colleagues and our entire country to join me in celebrating Major Witt and the hundreds of thousands of law enforcement professionals just like her who have committed their entire professional lives to helping America become a more safe, equitable, just, and perfect union.
Mrs. DEMINGS. We thank the gentleman from Minnesota for that tribute. I now yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).
{time} 1800
Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, this week, May 9 to May 15, is National Police Week. I stand today to join with my colleagues in carrying forth a tradition that started 59 years ago.
In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed, and Congress ratified, May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the week in which that date falls is National Police Week.
During this time, we pause to recognize those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
Those of us here in Congress know well the bravery and dedication of law enforcement officers, for we saw it firsthand on January 6 when they protected this citadel of democracy and the public servants who were discharging their duty.
Some of those brave souls paid with their lives, such as Officer Brian Sicknick. We also lost Officer Howard Liebengood and Officer Jeffrey Smith, who died by suicide in the immediate aftermath of that tragic day. Many more police officers who were on duty that day are still hurting.
Of course, all across our Nation, and in Ohio particularly, our police officers and their families have sacrificed themselves for their communities. I have done ride-alongs with these officers and watched them deal with the overdose issues and the opiate epidemic in Ohio.
We watch them risk their lives. We pray for their families who worry every time they put on their boots and go to work.
In short, Mr. Speaker, they show up. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund compiles the names of those officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty in this past year and all those who have died in previous years but whose stories of sacrifice have been lost to history until now. This year, nearly 400 new names were added to this list. I stand today to honor all those lives that were lost, including the following five officers from Ohio.
We honor James Michael Skernivitz from Cleveland, Adam McMillan from Hamilton County, Kaia Lafay Grant from Springdale, Anthony Hussein Dia from Toledo, and, finally, Rex Faux from Summit County, who died in 1933 but whose name had not previously been added to this list of fallen officers.
We also honor all the men and women in law enforcement who show up for all of us every day.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his tribute. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney).
Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. No one can be a better spokeswoman for this issue than Mrs. Demings, who proudly represents her district in Florida and served as the police leader in her hometown.
Mr. Speaker, as we remember the police officers who have fallen in the line of duty, it is with great sadness that I must add another name to that list.
Officer Jimmy Inn of the Stockton Police Department was killed yesterday while responding to a domestic violence call.
Just 30 years old, Officer Inn joined the force in 2015 and was a member of the Honor Guard. He was a husband and a father who leaves behind a 7-month-old son, a stepson, a stepdaughter, and a wife, who also serves as a Stockton police officer.
Officer Inn is remembered as a kindhearted, selfless, and positive person. His commanding officer, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones, said that he was the epitome of what a police officer should be.
Officer Inn's last act was to help a woman and child in grave danger. Officer Inn sacrificed his life in service to others, and I ask everyone to join me in honoring his life, his service, and his memory.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, and we join him in grieving the death of the officer just yesterday.
I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Schrier).
Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Demings for yielding.
Today, I am honored to pay tribute to law enforcement officers and their families. Every day, law enforcement officers put their lives at risk in order to keep us and our communities safe. Most of the time, they return safely home to their families. But that is not always the case, and we should never lose sight of that.
In that spirit, I want to express profound gratitude to Deputy Ryan Thompson from Kittitas County, Washington, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty in 2019.
Ryan has since been recognized for this sacrifice on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington, D.C. Thank you to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for honoring and remembering Deputy Thompson's service.
I also express my appreciation for the families of law enforcement officers who live with an undercurrent of worry every day while their loved one is on duty.
And a very special thank-you to our very own Capitol Police, who stood up to a violent mob in order to protect us from danger. Several Capitol Police officers have lost their lives. Please know that we mourn with their families.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Auchincloss). The gentlewoman has 5 minutes and 45 seconds remaining.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Gottheimer).
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Demings for hosting this Special Order hour in honor of our brave law enforcement officers. I am proud to serve with her as a member of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus co-chaired by our dear friend and colleague Bill Pascrell.
Mr. Speaker, we are here today to commemorate Police Week and to honor all the brave law enforcement officers in New Jersey and across the country who put their lives on the line every single day to protect our communities.
We especially honor the more than 124 police officers who have died in the line of duty across the United States this year, including 64 who we lost to COVID-19. We will never forget their bravery, sacrifice, and service.
Mr. Speaker, police officers are our heroes, and I am deeply grateful to all law enforcement--Federal, State, and local--for what they do day in and day out. They never fail to get our backs, and we have a responsibility to get theirs.
That is why, in Congress, I am committed to fighting for all of our sworn officers and first responders by making sure they have the resources, equipment, and training they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
Our police departments have been tested and challenged during the pandemic over the year, but they have risen to the occasion, continuing to help our State and our people recover. I was very proud to lead the New Jersey delegation in requesting critical support for PPE and staffing at the very start of the pandemic, and I fought hard for and ensured a presumption for Public Safety Officers' Benefits for those on the front lines of COVID.
I thank all of my colleagues for working across the aisle for those who have served and having the backs of our first responders every day. Most of all, I thank every law enforcement officer for their solemn commitment to protect and to serve. God bless.
Mrs. DEMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his tribute.
Mr. Speaker, as someone who served 27 years in law enforcement, who had the honor of serving as the chief of police, one thing I know for sure is that the police are the community, and the community is the police. The police and the community are one. We are one.
I do believe that when we come together, we can do anything, that we can have some of the safest communities that America has to offer, that we can truly be, in America, what we were created to be.
We honor the men and women who put on the badge and the uniform every day, Mr. Speaker, and go to work not knowing whether they will ever make it back to their homes, to their families, to their loved ones.
I am honored to stand once again--I have done it for a lot of years now--to honor National Police Week and recognize the men and women who have paid it all. Many have given much, but the men and women in law enforcement who have laid down their lives to keep us safe have given their all.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. TORRES of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor National Police Week, and the brave, dedicated, and selfless heroes who work tireless long hours to keep the public safe in communities across this country.
This is deeply personal to me, as someone whose own loved ones wear a badge, and as someone who worked for nearly 18 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Los Angeles Police Department.
So I want to take this moment to say thank you, not just to the men and women in uniform on our streets, but also to their counterparts in service who answer the call whenever someone dials 911.
Dispatchers have a unique vantage on police work--they know how harrowing the situations police officers face are; how important police work is to people in their most vulnerable moments; and how committed officers are to serving the public.
After all, dispatchers are the ones who answer those calls for help in the first place.
But dispatchers also play a key role in keeping our officers safe. They gather situational awareness, so our officers know what to expect when they approach a scene; they send backup when more support is needed; and they send medical help if the unthinkable happens and an officer is hurt.
So as we honor those who serve, let's also honor the people who keep them safe every step of the way.
Public safety workers of all types are under new stresses right now as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uptick in gun violence that is tragically endemic to the United States.
So as we honor this valiant profession and acknowledge the harrowing circumstances they face, we must also take time to make sure they have the support they need, from PPE to mental health reources and everything in between.
Today, Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize National Police Week and the men and women who keep us safe at great personal sacrifice, and at great sacrifice to their own families.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 82
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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