[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     TRIBUTE TO TROOPER JAMES NOYES

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a brave and 
dedicated New Hampshire State Trooper, Sgt. James Noyes, who was killed 
tragically in the line of duty at Gilford on this past Monday, October 
3. Sergeant Noyes was the first State trooper to be killed by gunfire 
in the 47-year history of the New Hampshire State Police.
  Mr. President, Sergeant Noyes was off-duty, at home with his family 
in Madison, when he learned of a stand-off in Gilford in which a 
despondent man who had lost his wife earlier this year was barricaded 
inside his home with a rifle, threatening to harm himself and others. 
True to his life-long sense of duty, Sergeant Noyes responded to the 
situation by rushing to the scene to help.
  An expert hostage negotiator and a long-time leader of the State 
police swat team, Sergeant Noyes spent many hours patiently attempting 
to persuade the distraught man to lay down his weapon. Tragically, 
those efforts did not succeed and Sergeant Noyes, age 40, was shot to 
death. Sadly, the bullet that killed him passed behind the bullet-proof 
vest that he was wearing.
  As grief-stricken as they are at his untimely death, the family of 
Sergeant Noyes can take justified comfort and pride in the fact that he 
lived his life so well. Reared in Massachusetts, James Noyes joined the 
New Hampshire State Police soon after graduating from the University of 
Massachusetts in 1976. Not long after that, he became a member of the 
State Police's Special Weapons and Tactics [SWAT] team. He became a 
leader of that elite corps of troopers, who handle hostage situations 
and other crises that require officers who have special training and 
the proper temperament.
  Remembering how well-suited Sergeant Noyes was to his duties, Conway 
Police Lt. David Bennett said that he ``had a natural presence--he 
could defuse most situations. He was unique in law enforcement.'' 
Moreover, Lieutenant Bennett remembered, Sergeant Noyes ``was a dynamic 
trooper. He was in a learning mode continuously--he wanted to know how 
to do a better job.''
  Mr. President, the many tributes that I have read emphasize the 
degree to which Sergeant Noyes kept his priorities straight. As 
dedicated as he was to his career, he remained uncommonly devoted to 
his wife, Debra and their children, Nathan, Daniel, and Brianna. ``He 
was a family man first,'' said Kenneth High School Athletic Director 
Ken Girouz. ``He was with his sons and daughter as much as possible, 
and this is something that is difficult to do in his profession. ''
  Sergeant Noyes also dedicated himself to his community, coaching 
local team sports and assisting with an anti-drug program in the 
schools. ``One of the children said that when (Sergeant Noyes) coached, 
he cheered for his own team and the other team as well,'' said Madison 
Elementary School Principal Pat Durgin.
  In its fine editorial paying tribute to Sergeant Noyes, the 
Manchester Union-Leader offered a profound insight. In the wake of the 
fatal shooting of Sgt. James Noyes * * *,'' the editorial said:

       Citizens should reflect on the risks faced daily by all law 
     enforcement officers. And when one dies in the line of duty, 
     it is important that we remember that ``he'' is ``we'', that 
     he put himself in harm's way as our surrogate so that we did 
     not have to do so.

  Mr. President, my heart goes out to Debra, Nathan, Daniel, and 
Brianna Noyes as they mourn the tragic loss of their husband and 
father. I know what it is like to lose a father in the line of duty. 
May God bless them as they lay to rest a good and brave man who lived a 
life of service to others and who died a hero so that others might be 
safe.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full Manchester 
Union-Leader article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Manchester Union-Leader Oct. 4, 1994]

                             Double Tragedy


                    acceptance does not come easily

                           (By Jim Finnegan)

       Given the grave risks of the profession, it was inevitable 
     that a New Hampshire State Police officer would one day be 
     gunned down while performing his duty.
       But what makes especially tragic Monday's shooting death of 
     State Police Sergeant James Noyes--the first such occurrence 
     in the agency's 57-year history--is the circumstances in 
     which it occurred.
       The Madison man and other members of the SWAT team were not 
     trying to flush out some hardened criminal when they 
     approached a home at 119 Morrill Street in Gilford at 5:45 
     Monday morning. On the contrary, Sergeant Noyes' killer, 
     James Monsante, was a respected member of the community who 
     by all accounts was depressed to the point of complete 
     despair by the death of his beloved wife and apparently 
     seeking ways to end his own life.
       Sunday night's attempt by the police to negotiate with him 
     had failed.
       Monsante fatally shot Noyes and then died after he fired on 
     police officers who had tossed a gas canister into his 
     barricaded home. Theirs was a failed attempt to disorient the 
     distraught man, whose family sought to have him undergo 
     treatment through involuntary emergency admission to a mental 
     hospital.
       It is the very unpredictability of domestic violence cases 
     that renders them so dangerous.
       Sergeant Noyes, a much-respected family man and promoter of 
     sports in his home town of Madison, was a skilled 17-year 
     veteran of the SWAT team. Yet, he and his State Police 
     comrades had no reason to anticipate tragedy when, responding 
     to a request for assistance from the Gilford Police 
     Department, they attempted to perform inherently dangerous 
     duty that, to them, probably seemed almost routine.
       So, what we have here obviously is a double tragedy, 
     attested to by the fact that SWAT team members, although 
     brought to tears by the loss of one of their own, embraced 
     the Monsante family members who offered them heartfelt 
     apologies.
       In the wake of the fatal shooting of Sergeant James Noyes, 
     who wanted to live, by James Monsante, who wanted to die, 
     citizens should reflect on the risks faced daily by all law 
     enforcement officers--faced, that is, regardless of how well 
     they are trained. And when one dies or is injured in the line 
     of duty, it is important that we remember that ``he'' is 
     ``we,'' that he put himself in harm's way as our surrogate so 
     that we did not have to do so.
       To be sure, we all appreciate their sacrifice. But 
     shouldn't we make a special effort to tell them so, 
     individually . . . before it is too late? A simple ``thank 
     you'' will suffice.
       Tragedies such as the one that occurred in Gilford are 
     almost beyond human comprehension. We are told on such 
     occasions that we must not forget the deceased, but that we 
     must accept the fact of his or her death, and that is true. 
     That acceptance, of course, does not come easily.
       But it will come.
       In the meantime, The Union Leader extends its sympathies to 
     the Noyes and Monsante families in this their shared time of 
     grief. May their departed loved ones rest in peace.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I will conclude by saying that today was 
the funeral for James Noyes, and it is with deep sadness that I report 
this to my colleagues here in the Senate and to the country. He was, as 
many law enforcement officers are around the country, dedicated to his 
profession, and fully prepared to accept the risks. He died much too 
young.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the remainder of my time.

                          ____________________