[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 71 (Monday, May 11, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5311-S5312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this week we commemorate National 
Police Week, recognizing the service and sacrifice of the men and women 
across America in law enforcement. We especially honor those peace 
officers who have been tragically killed in the line of duty while 
protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy.
  Over 25 years ago, I served as a county executive in Jefferson 
County, KY, which includes my hometown of Louisville. I got to work 
with the county's police force and witnessed up close their dedication 
and their professionalism. In Jefferson County, we pioneered new 
techniques for tracking down abducted children that met with much 
success--enough success that other jurisdictions adopted these 
techniques, eventually leading to Congressional establishment of the 
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  Decades later, peace officers in Louisville are still proud to 
protect and serve, even with their lives in the balance. And those we 
have lost are not forgotten. I was moved to read in my hometown paper 
recently an article about a memorial ceremony in Louisville coinciding 
with National Police Week. Fellow officers and family members of fallen 
officers gathered to remember them and thank them for their service. 
Police forces across Kentucky reverently marked National Police Week as 
well. At a service in Richmond, Gov. Steve Beshear watched 120 police 
cadets march at the State Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, while 
flags were presented to family members of those lost in the performance 
of their duties. This Friday in Covington, officers will honor their 
fallen brothers at the northern Kentucky law enforcement memorial.
  This Senate has the deepest admiration and respect for police 
officers in every community in the Nation. We recognize their work is 
both an honorable job and a dangerous one. They bravely risk their 
lives for ours, and America is grateful.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the full articles about the recent ceremonies in both Louisville and 
Richmond.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Louisville Courier-Journal, May 8, 2009]

 Fallen Police Officers Honored at Jefferson Square Service: Courage, 
                     Commitment to Duty Are Honored

                          (By Jessie Halladay)

       Sue Wells' eyes filled with tears as she stood next to a 
     wreath she helped lay at the law enforcement memorial in 
     Jefferson Square yesterday.
       Her husband, Forest Hills Police Chief Randy Wells, was 
     killed in October 2007 while working an off-duty traffic 
     detail.
       Yesterday, Wells joined other family members and friends of 
     officers killed in the line of duty to remember and pay their 
     respects during a service at Jefferson Square downtown.
       ``It's wonderful that they remember,'' Wells said. ``It's 
     very heartwarming, but it's heart-wrenching too.''
       Members of the city's fraternal order of police lodges for 
     several agencies helped plan the event, for which the 
     University of Louisville police union was host.
       ``When their duty called, they laid down their life for 
     their community, for us,'' U of L Officer Russell Fuller said 
     during the ceremony. ``We will not let their actions fade 
     into history.''
       Memorials of this type mean a lot to those families left 
     behind, said Jennifer Thacker, who spoke during the service. 
     Thacker's husband, Brandon, was shot in April 1998 while 
     working as an investigator for the Kentucky Department of 
     Alcoholic Beverage Control. Thacker now serves as national 
     president of the group Concerns of Police Survivors, or COPS.
       She spoke to those attending about the value of always 
     being a member of the law enforcement family.

[[Page S5312]]

       ``I found hope and courage through the support of others,'' 
     she said.
       Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert White attended 
     yesterday's ceremony because he said it's important to pay 
     respects and keep the memories alive of those who have died 
     in the service of their community.
       He said these annual ceremonies serve not only as reminders 
     but as a renewed pledge of the commitment officers make to 
     their fellow officers and those officers' families.
       ``It really reiterates the importance of maintaining honor 
     and respect for those men and women who have lost their lives 
     in the line of duty,'' White said.
       Wells said while the service brings up many painful 
     memories, she is grateful for the support she has received 
     during her loss, which continues today.
       ``If I need anything I know I could call in the wee hours 
     of the morning,'' she said.
                                  ____


              [From the Richmond Register, Apr. 28, 2009]

            State Adds 28 Names to Law Enforcement Memorial

                           (By Bill Robinson)

       As a kilted bagpiper played and Gov. Steve Beshear watched 
     Monday morning, 120 Kentucky law enforcement cadets marched 
     in military fashion to a ceremony honoring two law officers 
     who died in the line of duty last year.
       A bright spring sun flooded the state's Law Enforcement 
     Officers Memorial at Eastern Kentucky University with light 
     for the ceremony attended by officers and family members from 
     across the state.
       In addition to the names of Harlan County Constable Joe 
     Howard and Bell County Deputy Sean Pursifull, the names of 26 
     other officers who died in the line of duty between 1862 and 
     1993 were added to the memorial's wall of honor.
       American flags were presented to the families or 
     departments of each officer whose name was added this year.
       Pursifull and his K-9 partner were killed Jan. 10, 2008, 
     when a vehicle driven by a fleeing suspect hit their car.
       Howard suffered a fatal heart attack while serving a 
     warrant on April 1, 2008.
       Howard's son, Tim, an 11-year veteran of the Harlan County 
     Sheriff's Department, attended the ceremony with his wife and 
     8-year-old daughter.
       In addition to eulogizing the fallen officers, Beshear 
     praised the cadets who ``knowing the dangers, marched with 
     their heads held high, undeterred from their goal of becoming 
     a peace officer.''
       Today's law officers must be better trained than ever, 
     Beshear said, because criminals in the 21st century are more 
     sophisticated, methodical and organized.
       However, ``The heart and soul required of you, our 
     protectors, never change,'' he said.
       ``I pray we never have to engrave any of your names, or any 
     other peace officer, on this memorial.''
       The 120 cadets who took part in the ceremony included 
     members of the current Kentucky State Police Academy class.
       ``I'm proud to have protected this KSP Academy class from 
     budget cuts,'' the governor said, ``because I know how 
     important they will be to our state.''
       The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute as a squad of 
     seven officers fired three rifle volleys and a bugler played 
     ``Taps.''

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