[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 78 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S6440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       POLICE OFFICER PERRIN LOVE

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the heroism of Officer Perrin Love, a private in the Charleston Police 
Department. Officer Love died a tragic death last Saturday morning, 
when he was accidentally shot by his partner while pursuing an armed 
suspect.
  Hard-working, dedicated, and courageous, Police Officer Perrin Love 
was a credit to the Force and the City of Charleston. All who knew him 
liked and respected him, and though he was only a rookie, everyone on 
the Charleston Police Force believed he had a bright future as a law 
enforcement officer. Officer Love graduated first in his class from the 
Police Academy in Portland, Oregon, and had earned high marks for his 
performance on the Charleston Force. He earned his first stripe earlier 
than most new officers on the Charleston Force.
  Public service and devotion to duty were the hallmarks of Perrin 
Love's life. Before becoming a police officer, he served with 
distinction in the United States Navy. As the Charleston Post and 
Courier wrote in its memorial to Officer Love: ``Officer Perrin `Ricky' 
Love was doing exactly what he wanted when he died Friday. He was 
wearing a uniform, serving the public, and enforcing laws he believed 
in.''
  Mr. President, men and women like Officer Love are a credit to their 
families, to their uniforms, and to this nation. Law officers like 
Perrin Love always give me hope for our future. These brave souls 
continue to patrol our cities, enforce our laws, and protect our lives 
and property at great risk, asking nothing in return except the 
privilege to wear their uniforms and the knowledge that they have the 
hard-won respect of their neighbors and their peers.
  According to his fellow officers, Officer Love embodied all the 
qualities one wants in an officer of the law: he was brave and 
dedicated to serving his fellow citizens and the law, but he also loved 
his community and worked hard to establish good relations with everyone 
on his beat. His tragic death is a blow to his family, to his fellow 
officers, and to the City of Charleston.
  I join all the people of Charleston in mourning his passing and 
expressing my most sincere condolences to his sister, Jennifer Love, 
and his parents, Joshua and Nancy Love. I hope the knowledge that the 
entire community laments the loss of such an honorable and admirable 
man as Officer Love will be of some small comfort to them in their time 
of grief.

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