[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 17, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SIGNING OF THE BULLETPROOF VESTS PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, yesterday I had the privilege to 
attend the signing ceremony at the White House for the Bulletproof 
Vests Partnership Grant Act, S. 1605, with Attorney General Reno, Vice 
President Gore and President Clinton, who signed the bill into law.
  I was honored to be joined at the ceremony by Vermont State Police 
Captain A. Marc Metayer and Springfield, Vermont Police Chief Barbara 
Higgins, who represented state and local law enforcement officers in my 
home state. Captain Metayer spoke on the importance of this new law and 
introduced the President of the United States.
  I am very proud of the remarks of Captain Metayer and I ask that his 
remarks be printed at this point in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

  Remarks of Captain A. Marc Metayer, Troop ``B'' Commander, Vermont 
                      State Police, June 16, 1998

       I am honored to have the opportunity to speak at the 
     signing of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 
     1998. I would like to thank Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont 
     and Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado for their 
     efforts in making this life-saving grant a reality.
       As Senator Leahy knows, the need for body armor for Vermont 
     law enforcement officers was highlighted by the two-state 
     manhunt for Carl Drega, last August. Drega killed four people 
     in Colebrook, New Hampshire, including New Hampshire State 
     Troopers Scott Phillips and Leslie Lord. He then traveled 
     into Vermont where he wounded four more officers during two 
     separate encounters. Drega was killed in the final exchange 
     of gunfire with a combined force of Vermont, New Hampshire 
     and Federal law enforcement officers.
       I know these circumstances from first hand experience. I 
     was the on scene incident commander for the Vermont State 
     Police when Drega was finally stopped.
       The Drega incident brought home the fact that no area of 
     the country, regardless of its remote nature, is immune from 
     senseless violence: violence against our citizens and 
     violence against our law enforcement officers. Law 
     enforcement officers must be prepared for such violence at 
     any time, and any place.
       The Drega incident erupted from a regular traffic stop in 
     which the Troopers were going to remove registration plates 
     from Drega's vehicle. Moments later, two Troopers were dead, 
     horrifying their families and their communities. All from an 
     activity which law enforcement officers perform countless 
     times each day: a traffic stop for a minor violation.
       In the twenty years that I have served as a Vermont State 
     Trooper, I have worn body armor as a part of my daily 
     routine. For those twenty years, I have personally purchased 
     successive vests since the State did not provide them. I have 
     been fortunate enough to be in a financial position that 
     allowed me to make these important purchases. But I have 
     known many officers, most with young families, who simply 
     could not afford to purchase body armor.
       The Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act will provide the 
     funding to assist police departments with the purchase of 
     body armor for their officers. Every state in the nation has 
     communities that need this help to provide their law 
     enforcement officers with this basic protection. In the end, 
     this new law will save the lives of law enforcement officers 
     in each and every state.
       Thank you to all that have made this important contribution 
     to the safety of police officers around the country.
       I am now honored to introduce the President of the United 
     States, President Bill Clinton. 

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