[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 74 (Thursday, May 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1176-E1177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         28TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PEACE OFFICERS' MEMORIAL SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, today we stand on the West 
Lawn commemorating and celebrating the Nation's law enforcement 
officers from across the Nation. As Members of Congress, we welcome you 
to this Congress every year, and we do so humbly and with great 
appreciation.
  Let me acknowledge the work that many of us have done with our local 
law enforcement in the State of Texas. We have a multitude of law 
disciplines and law enforcement persons to whom we in Texas owe a debt 
of gratitude. From the constables office to other peace officers 
throughout the City of Houston, we owe these peace officers a debt of 
gratitude.
  As a Member of the Eighteenth Congressional District, I have the 
privilege of representing the first African American constable, Mae 
Walker, and representing Constable Victor Trevino, a Hispanic 
constable. We have deputy sheriffs. We have the sheriff's department. 
We have the Houston Police Department, the Department of Public Safety. 
In many instances we find great leaders who believe not only in crime 
fighting, but crime prevention.
  Today I would like to focus upon the importance of law enforcement 
and their need to work in the community. I salute the former mayor of 
the City of Houston, Lee Brown, former chief of police of the cities of 
Houston, New York, and Atlanta. I consider him the father of community-
oriented policing that really speaks to the hearts and minds of the 
people.

[[Page E1177]]

  It lets the police officers and law enforcement officers become 
knowledgeable about the community. The COPS program helps police 
officers know the ``good guys'' and the ``bad guys.'' Neighbors become 
comfortable with law enforcement officers when they are engaged as 
people who are concerned about the neighborhood and the community.
  At the same time as we raise up and respect our law enforcement 
officers, let me applaud those who I speak to all the time as I travel 
to Washington. We have a very effective aviation police force. I get an 
opportunity as I go through the airport to listen to them and to thank 
them.
  Let us be concerned about the benefits for law enforcement officers. 
In particular, I know that my city, a very large city, has seen the 
decline of senior officers. For some reason or another, because our 
belts are being tightened, we don't have enough resources to provide 
them with the upward mobility, the professional development and the 
protection of their pensions and to recognize the sacrifice that they 
and their families are making. We as communities across the Nation 
should be concerned about making sure they have the right kind of 
benefits.
  On the Federal level, I am very glad that the House Judiciary 
Committee has just passed out a COPS bill reauthorization. I think that 
is a very, very important aspect of the work of this Congress. The COPS 
program worked. It provided police officers for rural communities and 
urban communities. I spoke to my police personnel there and they said, 
yes, it would help us greatly if the COPS program were reauthorized. So 
as we salute our peace officers across America, let us make sure that 
we are actually doing as we are saying, and that is providing them with 
the resources that they need.

  At the same time, let me also add the importance of training. There 
is the sensitivity that our police officers are able to get through 
experience, but training also helps them detect those with mental 
illness and have the best resources to address those suffering from 
mental illness so that those persons can be taken away from society 
before they do harm to themselves or someone else.
  We thank those who are serving today. We offer our deepest sympathy 
to the families of those who have lost their lives on the front lines 
of law enforcement in America over the last year, and we certainly 
acknowledge the continued sacrifice that law enforcement officers will 
make.
  We should promote and congratulate good law enforcement officers. We 
should not allow the bad incidents that occur, the mishaps that occur, 
and many of them have occurred, and I have stood up vigorously against 
them and I will stand up yesterday, today and tomorrow, when there is 
abuse.
  But we should not allow those kinds of situations to take away from 
the grandeur, the respect, the honesty, the integrity and the downright 
commitment that the law enforcement agencies of America, particularly 
those in our local communities, show every single day with the idea 
that as they leave in the morning and kiss their families good-bye, 
that they might sacrifice their lives so that we might be safe.
  We owe them a great debt of gratitude, and it is my pleasure to thank 
our peace officers. Peace officers, the sworn, public-sector officers 
entrusted with law enforcement authority and the power of arrest, risk 
their lives daily to protect our Nation. These individuals, who are 
responsible for safeguarding the rights and freedoms we enjoy as 
Americans, are true heroes.
  Peace Officers Memorial Day honors those who have made the ultimate 
sacrifice for the safety and security of their communities and our 
Nation. Created by Public Law 87-726, signed by President Kennedy in 
1962, this day gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and pay our 
respect to those who, through their courageous deeds, have fallen in 
the line of duty.
  In the Houston Police Department's 168-year history, 109 officers 
have been killed while on duty. Nationally, the number of police 
officers that have fallen in the line of duty has decreased. Although 
the number of officers killed in the line of duty has declined in 
recent years, the fact that one officer is killed every 2\1/2\ days in 
our country is a sober reminder that protecting our communities and 
safeguarding our democracy come at a heavy price. There are 17,917 
names engraved on the Memorial, representing officers from all 50 
states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Federal law 
enforcement and military police agencies.

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