[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO REGINA WOODWARD NICKLES

 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, Kentucky suffered a grievous 
loss last week when law enforcement officer Regina Nickles of 
Harrodsburg, Kentucky was shot and killed, in the line of duty, early 
Wednesday morning as Officer Nickles and her partner were responding to 
a call reporting a man sneaking around the parking lot of a Harrodsburg 
factory. She was 45 years old.
  Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Regina Woodward Nickles grew up in Boyle 
County in Central Kentucky. She went to high school in Danville and 
then attended Eastern Kentucky University. In 1983, at the age of 29, 
Officer Nickles became the first--and remains the only--woman to ever 
serve on the Harrodsburg Police force. When she was profiled in the 
local newspaper in 1983, she said, ``I want to do the best job that I 
can, and I still feel like I have to prove myself because I'm a woman. 
I don't want to let these men down who had enough confidence in me to 
hire me.''
  In a town as small as Harrodsburg--population 8000--all the officers 
are well known. And Officer Nickles was particularly well regarded. She 
was known in the community as a peacemaker, an officer with a special 
talent for resolving disputes before they became violent. She is 
remembered as kind and caring, known for pulling over motorists, giving 
them a stern warning and sending them on their way. But she could also 
be tough when called for, and had the respect of the community and all 
of her fellow officers.
  Reflecting the the goodwill that she had built up in Harrodsburg over 
her career, Officer Nickles was recently nominated as the Republican 
candidate for sheriff in the November elections. A remarkable 
reflection of the rapport she had with the community is the fact that 
several people who had once been arrested and jailed by Officer Nickles 
have said that they still intended to vote for her because of the way 
she had treated them.
  The murder of Officer Nickles has left the Harrodsburg community in a 
state of shock. Much like our small Capitol Hill community was 
devastated by the murders of Officer J.J. Chestnut and Detective John 
Gibson, the residents of Harrodsburg are asking how this could happen 
in their small town. As we are painfully aware, no community is immune 
from such heinous acts.
  Mr. President, Officer Regina Woodward Nickles leaves behind an 
extended family that must now cope with an unimaginably horrific loss. 
Officer Nickles will also be mourned by the tight-knit Harrodsburg 
community in which she was such a valued participant.
  When Officer Nickles announced her candidacy for Sheriff, she 
elaborated on her motivation for pursuing the position. ``I want to do 
more than wear a badge and a gun,'' she observed. ``I want to touch 
people's lives.'' Officer Nickles didn't need to be elected sheriff to 
do that. It is abundantly clear that she had touched many people during 
her too-brief life, and she will be sorely missed.

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