[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H7333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING OFFICER RODNEY JOHNSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in the early evening hours of 
last Thursday, Officer Rodney Johnson lost his life in the line of 
duty. And out of that most horrific tragedy came an outpouring of love, 
affection, and admiration for one of Houston's finest.
  Officer Johnson's story, although he lived it every day, began to 
unfold. Alongside of this valiant officer was his valiant wife, a 
Houston Police Department officer by the name of Jocelyn Johnson. Both 
were the parents of five wonderful children. Included in the extended 
family were sisters and mothers and his very special sister, Susan 
Johnson. They were a family that were well known. Many of them or some 
of them were members or participants at the Wheeler Avenue Baptist 
Church in my congressional district, where at the time Reverend William 
Lawson was the pastor.
  As we begin to learn, know, and understand Officer Johnson, as I 
indicated, the hearts of Houstonians poured out to him and his family. 
I think what was most telling about how this family loved each other 
were the kind words or the words of nonhatred of his wife, when asked 
if she hated the perpetrator, who now has confessed and is in police 
custody, and she said no. What a statement of valor. What a statement 
of courage. What a statement of leadership.
  So this evening I pay tribute to Officer Rodney Johnson for his life 
and his legacy.
  As the story unfolds, he was a wonderful husband, a loving father, 
and an outstanding police officer. As I traveled around my district 
offering condolences to the number of men and women in blue that I saw, 
each one of them would say, we have lost a friend. You really needed to 
know Officer Rodney Johnson. He did so much. He cared so much. In fact, 
there was a story that indicated that he might have overslept on that 
day, but his wife woke him up and so he went on to work. When told the 
story, there was some reminiscing as to maybe that should not have 
happened, but then there was a thought that if he had woken up and 
found that he had overslept that he would, in fact, have gone to work 
because that is the kind of police officer Officer Rodney Johnson was 
and his legacy will continue to attest to.
  He was a police officer's police officer, and he was a community 
servant. He worked with those who were in trouble. He worked with those 
who were at risk. He worked with community programs. He was a community 
Santa Claus because he was a big man, big with love, with earnestness, 
sincerity, and hard work. And, yes, he cared about his performance. He 
cared about his fellow brothers and sisters. And, of course, he loved 
his family.
  So as Houston mourns, it shows what a city Houston is with a big 
heart. This evening there is a prayer vigil where a large gigantic card 
will be signed by all Houstonians. Yesterday, Quanell X organized in 
front of the Denny's in Third Ward, Texas, a fundraising effort that 
generated some $7,600 just in the afternoon, Sunday afternoon. People 
drove up and came from all over to provide resources for the family. We 
are now planning a community-wide memorial that will take place this 
week after the funeralizing of this valiant and brilliant officer.
  Most of all, we want to say to the family, his children, his wife, 
his sister, and many other relatives that we love Rodney for who he 
was. We love him for his legacy. We love his story and his commitment 
to our safety. And we will continue to work to provide more resources 
so our police officers can be more secure. Traveling not with one 
officer but two officers. A bullet-proof separation between the driver 
and the perpetrator or the arrested person.
  And, yes, we will not scapegoat a whole class of individuals because 
the individual involved in this may have been without status.
  The community is rallying together. The community is now honoring and 
mourning Officer Rodney Johnson. That is what we want this week to be, 
a tribute to his life and his legacy; and we want to move forward in 
tribute to him as we go into the weeks to come to provide more finances 
for our local police authorities, more cops on the beat, and, yes, to 
look into the request that his wife made that we find an opportunity or 
the resources to secure the driver and the perpetrator, to provide a 
bullet-proof separation from our police officers and the arrested 
person.
  May Rodney Johnson rest in peace. May God bless his family and his 
children. May God continue to give them peace and comfort in His grace 
and mercy. My friend, our friend, Officer Rodney Johnson, well done, 
our good and faithful servant.

                          ____________________