[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 11, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S5100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
our nation's law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the 
line of duty. I am proud to be a cosponsor of S. Res. 22, a resolution 
passed earlier this year by the Senate to commemorate and acknowledge 
the dedication and sacrifice made by these men and women. The 
resolution declared this Saturday, May 15th, as National Peace Officers 
Memorial Day.
  Currently, there are more than 700,000 men and women who serve this 
nation as the guardians of law and order. The duties of a law 
enforcement officer are both vitally important and extremely dangerous. 
Officers place themselves between our communities and the criminals who 
would do us harm. Every year, approximately 1 in 9 officers is 
assaulted, 1 in 25 officers is injured, and 1 in 4,400 officers is 
killed in the line of duty. In 1998, 156 federal, state and local law 
enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty.
  My home state of Vermont is familiar with the sacrifices made by law 
enforcement officer. Since 1965, the nine Vermont law enforcement 
officers listed below have lost their lives in the line of duty.
  July 9, 1965, Chief Alexander Pontecha, Lyndonville Police 
Department.
  December 12, 1972, Chief Dana L. Thompson, Manchester Police 
Department.
  January 17, 1978, Deputy Sheriff Bernard J. Demag, Chitternden County 
Sheriff's Department.
  April 27, 1978, Game Warden Arnold J. Magoon, Vermont Fish and 
Wildlife Department.
  October 1, 1982, Deputy Sheriff George J. Bent, Chittenden County 
Sheriff's Department.
  May 13, 1983, Lieutenant Arthur L. Yeaw, Vermont Department of Public 
Safety.
  June 14, 1987, Detective Sergeant William J. Chenard, Vermont 
Department of Public Safety.
  June 25, 1989, Investigator Eugene N. Gaiotti, Vermont Department of 
Liquor Control.
  May 12, 1992, Sergeant Gary Gaboury, Vermont Department of Pubic 
Safety.
  It is my hope that the National Peace Officers Memorial Day will 
remind Vermonters and Americans everywhere of the sacrifices made by 
law enforcement officers, and of the vital duties they perform every 
day. Whether by apprehending dangerous felons, assisting stranded 
motorists on the side of the road, or improving the lives of our young 
people, law enforcement officers make our towns, cities, states, and 
Nation safer places to live and work. We owe a tremendous debt of 
gratitude to those officers, and their families, who have given so much 
to improve all of our lives.

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