[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 23 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO CHIEF JOHN TURNER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 6, 2000

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an exceptional police 
chief from Mountlake Terrace, Chief John Turner. Chief Turner recently 
retired from law enforcement after twenty-nine years of dedicated 
service to the State of Washington. He was also the longest serving 
Chief in Snohomish County. As a law enforcement officer, Chief Turner 
has spent most of his life providing a sense of security and ensuring 
public safety for the community. He is a dedicated public servant, and 
the community wholeheartedly embraces and appreciates his tireless 
service.
  Chief Turner, although leaving the Mountlake Terrace Police, will 
still be involved in the realm of law enforcement as the Executive 
Director for the Western Regional Institute for Community Policing 
(WRICOPS). WRICOPS, one of twenty-nine university/law enforcement 
collaborations funded by Congress, provides an integrated approach to 
community policing through training, technical assistance, and applied 
research. WRICOPS is based at Washington State University in Spokane, 
and serves the states of Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Washington, and 
Wyoming.
  Chief Turner has always been a visionary leader and has taken a pro-
active approach as an officer of the law. He has a long legacy of 
encouraging community involvement by working with many community 
groups, elected officials, and citizens in an effort to improve public 
safety. He helped to establish the Northwest High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area (HIDTA), created to stop the flow of drugs and drug-
related crime into our counties. HIDTA, part of the Office of National 
Drug Control Policy, works to reduce drug trafficking in the most 
critical areas of the country by providing a coordination umbrella for 
local, state, and federal law enforcement efforts. He was also ahead of 
his time in notifying the public about registered sex offenders--
Mountlake Terrace was the first police agency in Washington State to 
broadcast such warnings.
  Finally, Chief Turner recognized the need to reach out to at-risk 
youth and give young people a safe place to spend their weekend nights. 
The Neutral Zone was created in 1992 as a collaborative effort between 
Chief Turner and the Edmonds School District. The Neutral Zone, a 
hugely successful program that has received nation-wide recognition, 
provides a supervised, drug-free place where young people can simply 
hang out and socialize on Friday and Saturday nights until 2 a.m. Teens 
learn to develop positive relationships with peers and adults, and 
parents are assured that their child is safe.
  Chief Turner is a shining example of a great police officer and a 
great community leader. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in 
thanking him for his service, and wishing him well in all of his future 
endeavors.

                          ____________________