[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S912-S913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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TRIBUTE TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND COMMUNITIES INVOLVED IN THE 
                    APPREHENSION OF THE TEXAS SEVEN

 Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I want to take a few minutes 
to recognize the efforts of everyone involved in the capture of the 
Texas fugitives that ended one of the largest manhunts this national 
has ever seen. As you know, the last two of the seven Texas inmates 
that escaped from a maximum security prison in Kenedy, Texas on 
December 13th surrendered on January 24th in Colorado Springs, 
Colorado. This can be attributed to the exemplary work done by the 
local and federal law enforcement agencies involved as well as the 
communities of Woodland Park and Colorado Springs. This was a 
cooperative effort that saw the pooling of all the resources available 
and resulted in a peaceful conclusion.
  There cannot be enough said about the work that was done by the law 
enforcement agencies involved. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The 
Colorado Springs office of the Bureau of Alcohol and Firearms, the U.S. 
Marshals

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office, the Texas authorities, the Teller County Sheriffs office, the 
El Paso County Sheriffs office, the Colorado Springs Police Department, 
the Woodland Park Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol did a 
tremendous job of working together to apprehend the seven fugitives.
  The effort and support of the residents of Woodland Park and Colorado 
Springs can't be overlooked. We need to commend people like Wade Holder 
and Eric Singer. Mr. Holder resides in Woodland Park and is the owner 
of the RV park where the fugitives were hiding out. He called in a tip 
to the local authorities after seeing pictures of the fugitives on the 
America's Most Wanted Web Site. KKTV's Colorado Springs news anchor 
Eric Singer helped negotiators by conducting a telephone interview with 
the last two fugitives in order to assure a peaceful surrender. These 
are just a couple of examples of how the two communities contributed to 
the successful manhunt.
  In all of this we should not forget that two law enforcement agents 
lost their lives in this investigation. Irving, Texas Officer Aubrey 
Hawkins and Colorado State Trooper Jason Manspeaker both died in the 
line of duty. Officer Hawkins was brutally shot 11 times and killed by 
one of the fugitives while responding to a robbery of a sporting goods 
store in Irving Texas on December 24th. Colorado State Trooper Jason 
Manspeaker was killed when he crashed his Jeep Cherokee Squad car into 
a heavy equipment trailer on U.S. Highway 6 in Colorado. The crash 
occurred while chasing a vehicle suspected of harboring the last two 
fugitives on January 23rd. Both Officer Hawkins and State Trooper 
Manspeaker paid the ultimate price for our freedom. My wife Joan and I 
offer all our compassion, our sympathy and our prayers to the families 
of both victims.

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