[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1835-E1836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RANGEMASTER JOSEPH BOYD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 18, 2000

  Ms. SANCHEZ. Ms. Speaker, today I have the opportunity to remember 
and pay tribute to a great man from my community. Joseph Samuel Boyd, 
the Santa Ana Police Department's Rangemaster, played an integral role 
in helping to make the streets of Santa Ana safer for all its citizens.
  Rangemaster Boyd was dedicated to a life of public service. After 
serving 24 years in the Marine Corps, including time in Vietnam, and 
rising in rank from boot recruit to the Officer rank of ``Major'', 
Rangemaster Boyd entered a life of law enforcement. After his 
retirement from the Marine Corps, Rangemaster Boyd became the firearms 
instructor for the Orange County Sheriff's Department until he was 
hired by the Santa Ana Police Department in 1993.
  During his tenure with the Santa Ana Police Department, Rangemaster 
Boyd developed a comprehensive training curriculum in firearm 
proficiency and safety for the Department's 400 officers. The system he 
developed, ``Advanced Firearms Simulator Training'' is a state-of-the-
art system which simulates real life situations police officers 
encounter daily. It puts them in real-life situations and requires them 
to rapidly evaluate and assess a ``shoot/don't shoot'' scenario. This 
is now a widely-used training method at law enforcement agencies 
throughout the country.

[[Page E1836]]

  In 1995, Rangemaster Boyd played a pivotal role in obtaining a Bureau 
of Justice Assistance grant for the Santa Ana Police Department's 
Firearms Trafficking Program. This program allies the Department's 
Weapons Interdiction Team with the FBI and ATF in combating illegal 
firearms trafficking.
  The program proved to be an unqualified success and Rangemaster Boyd 
was an integral part of the team effectiveness, as he examined and 
tested firearms for ballistics evidence.
  It was, however, in this capacity that Rangemaster Boyd lost his 
life. On January 28, 1998, Officer Boyd was testing an outlawed, nine 
millimeter ``MAC 11'' machine pistol for ballistics evidence. During 
the testing, the gun jammed. In an attempt to un-jam the gun, it 
tragically misfired, killing Rangemaster Boyd.
  A devoted family man, Rangemaster Boyd is survived by his wife of 34 
years, Marion, two adult children, and two grandchildren.
  The loss of Rangemaster Boyd left a void that still resonates today. 
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of this tragic story.
  Since Rangemaster Boyd was not a ``sworn'' law enforcement officer, 
his family was not entitled to the Department of Justice's Public 
Safety Officers Benefits. Rangemaster Boyd was a ``civilian'' working 
in a law enforcement capacity.
  These Department of Justice's Public Safety Officers Benefits provide 
financial relief to family members of law enforcement officers who've 
lost their lives in the line of duty. Rangemaster Boyd gave his life in 
the line of duty, in a law enforcement capacity, and his family 
deserved these benefits.
  For the past three years, I have worked to correct this wrong. I 
introduced legislation, H.R. 513 in the House of Representatives which 
would have clarified that Rangemaster Boyd was a public safety officer 
who died as a direct result of an injury sustained in the line of duty. 
I worked with the Department of Justice to clarify this situation, and 
get Rangemaster Boyd's widow and family the benefits they deserved.
  I am pleased that on July 21, 2000 the work of myself, and so many 
others in the community, paid off when the Department of Justice 
decided to release the funding to Rangemaster Boyd's family.
  The benefit package is just a small expense to the Justice 
Department, only $100,000, but it has been a large relief to the Boyd 
family. I am glad the Federal Government looked beyond this 
``technicality'' and realized what impact these benefits would make.

                          ____________________