[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 145 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S10835]]
                 THANKING AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam President, I rise today to commend the Maryland, 
Virginia, and Federal law enforcement agencies on the capture and 
arrest of the snipers who terrorized our region. For the citizens of 
Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, life slowly returned 
to normal after the 23 days of sniper shootings in October, but life 
will never return to normal for the families of the victims who were 
killed, and those who are still recovering from their injuries. I would 
like to extend my sympathies to those families and to say that our 
hearts go out to them in this difficult time.
  Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the police forces in our 
region, the sniper attacks were stopped before they could do more harm. 
An unprecedented level of cooperation and coordination among the 
different jurisdictions involved, as well as among the Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement agencies, led to the capture of the two 
individuals now charged in the sniper attacks. The task force created 
during the sniper attacks did an excellent and effective job of sharing 
information, working together, and putting the safety of our citizens 
first. I thank all of the men and women who worked so tirelessly to 
apprehend the suspects and commend them for a job well done.
  The Federal Government also played an important role in the 
investigation. The FBI provided support to State and local police 
forces in conducting the manhunt, the ATF helped track and research the 
guns and bullets used by the snipers, and the Department of Defense 
provided planes to monitor the region from the air. On October 8, I 
wrote a letter to Attorney General Ashcroft stating my support for 
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose's request for Federal aid 
in the investigation, and I am extremely grateful that Federal aid was 
granted.
  While it is impossible to thank all of those involved, I would like 
to acknowledge by name the resolve, extraordinary dedication and 
performance of Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose 
and County Executive Doug Duncan, FBI Special Agent Gary Bald, and ATF 
agent Mike Bouchard, who became the public face of the crisis and the 
investigation for people all across the country. Their leadership, calm 
determination, and obvious skill in the most trying and tragic of 
circumstances, without precedent in our area, helped inform and assure 
the public that everything possible was being done.
  Now that this multistate manhunt is over, the States involved must 
deal with the financial costs of the investigation. In order to assist 
area States in paying for these costs, I joined with Senators Mikulski, 
Warner and Allen in a letter to the Department of Justice requesting 
Federal reimbursement for the enormous costs of the investigation. I am 
confident that these suspects will be brought to justice and that this 
may provide some small measure of comfort for those who lost loved ones 
in these attacks.
  The 23 days in October were a trying time for our area and the 
uncertainty of the sniper attacks unnerved residents of the region. The 
weight of this concern has been lifted, thanks to the hard work of our 
area law enforcement agencies. But for the families of those killed in 
the attacks, their loss will never be remedied and for them the weight 
will never be lifted.
  We must move forward and reflect on the lessons learned from these 
tragic attacks. All jurisdictions involved, as well as the expanding 
number of jurisdictions in which these two suspects allegedly committed 
crimes, must now focus on preparedness. We have learned how effective 
the coordination of law enforcement agencies can be, and we must plan 
for such coordination in the future. And we in Congress can take steps 
to help States improve preparedness, coordinate law enforcement 
agencies, and use tools such as ballistic fingerprinting to prevent 
this from ever happening again.

                          ____________________