[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 68 (Friday, May 20, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5551-S5579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as we commemorate National Police Week, I 
would like to recognize the courageous

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men and women who serve our families and communities as law enforcement 
officers. I would also like to honor the memory of those who gave their 
lives in the line of duty. These officers, and their families, have 
paid the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of others.
  The first National Police Week was celebrated in 1962 when President 
John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order designating May 15th as Peace 
Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as ``Police 
Week.'' The weeklong tribute to our Nation's local, State and Federal 
police officers honors those who died in the line of duty and those who 
continue to serve and protect us every day at great personal risk.
  According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, 1,649 law 
enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last 
10 years. In 2004 alone, 153 officers lost their lives, including 7 
from Michigan. As in past years, the names of these officers have been 
permanently engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial 
along side more than 17,000 others.
  We can further honor the sacrifices of these brave men and women by 
passing important legislation to support our law enforcement officers. 
That is why I have joined Senator Biden as a cosponsor of his COPS 
Reauthorization Act. The COPS program was created in 1994 and is 
designed to assist State and local law enforcement agencies in hiring 
additional police officers to reduce crime through the use of community 
policing. Nationwide, the COPS program has awarded more than $11 
billion in grants, resulting in the hiring of 118,000 additional police 
officers. Unfortunately, authorization for the COPS program was 
permitted to expire at the end of fiscal year 2000. Although the 
program has survived through continued annual appropriations, its 
funding has been significantly cut. The COPS Reauthorization Act would 
continue the COPS program for another 6 years at a funding level of 
$1.15 billion per year, nearly double the amount appropriated for 
fiscal year 2005. Among other things, this funding would allow State 
and local governments to hire an additional 50,000 police officers and 
improve their ability to analyze crime data and DNA evidence. At a time 
when we are asking more of our police departments than ever before, I 
believe we should be devoting more resources to the COPS program, not 
less.
  Supporting our law enforcement officers also requires that we take up 
and pass common sense legislation to help keep them safe while they 
carry out their duties. Shootings have been the leading cause of death 
for law enforcement officers over the last ten years and more can be 
done to keep powerful weapons out of the hands of violent criminals. We 
should listen to law enforcement groups like the International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Brotherhood of 
Police Officers, and the National Fraternal Order of Police which have 
called for reauthorization of the 1994 assault weapons ban. In addition 
we should be working to pass legislation to close loopholes that allow 
potential criminals to buy dangerous weapons like the Five-Seven armor-
piercing handgun. Our law enforcement community deserves no less.
  In honor of their memories, the names of law enforcement officers 
from Michigan who died in the line of duty during 2004 are:
  Officer Matthew E. Bowens of Detroit, died February 16, 2004;
  Officer Gary Cooper Davis of Bloomfield Township, died May 13, 2004;
  Officer Jennifer T. Fettig of Detroit, died February 16, 2004;
  Deputy Sheriff Perry Austin Fillmore of Clinton County, died March 
27, 2004;
  Deputy Sheriff John Kevin Gunsell of Otsego County, died September 
12, 2004;
  Officer Mark Anthony Sawyers of Sterling Heights, died June 5, 2004; 
and
  Detective John Raymond Weir of Sault Ste. Marie, died November 7, 
2004.

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