[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IN TRIBUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 28, 1998

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I come here 
today to offer my condolences and prayers to the families of Officer 
Chestnut and Detective Gibson. As I was walking here just a few moments 
ago, I stopped to speak to a retired Capitol Hill Police Officer. As we 
were discussing last week's tragic shooting, he said to me, ``It could 
have been one of us.'' In many ways, I think that characterizes the 
mood on Capitol Hill right now. Many of us feel vulnerable today 
because, indeed, it could have been one of us.
  The greatest gift one human being can give another is his life. 
Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson made the ultimate sacrifice not 
because they sought to be heroes, but because that was the type of men 
they were. In a moment of intense fear, of extreme panic that I pray 
most Americans will never know, Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson 
stood tall. They laid their lives down so that others would not have 
to.
  Sadly, in my community on Staten Island, there is another hero in 
need of our prayers. Police Officer Gerard Carter is lying in a 
hospital bed right now with a bullet lodged in his brain. He is holding 
onto life with the faintest of grips, struggling to survive after being 
shot in the right temple two nights ago by a 17-year old, two-time 
murderer. Police Officer Carter was truly one of New York's Finest, a 
brave young man who stared danger in the face and sought to make a 
difference.
  Sometimes we may forget the danger that our law enforcement officers 
face when they put on their uniforms, clip on their badges and take to 
the streets. They put themselves in harm's way so that we may be safe. 
I offer them our thanks, and to the families of Officer Chestnut, 
Detective Gibson and Police Officer Carter, I offer you our prayers.

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