[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 1, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H13372-H13373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF FOUR WASHINGTON SLAIN OFFICERS

  (Mr. DICKS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, following the tragic shooting that took the 
lives of four police officers in Lakewood,

[[Page H13373]]

Washington, early Sunday morning, I strongly believe it is appropriate 
for the House of Representatives to observe a moment of silence in the 
Chamber today. These four officers, Mark Renninger, Ronald Owens, Tina 
Griswold, and Greg Richards, were preparing to start their shift last 
Sunday morning when they were brutally murdered by an assailant who has 
now died as police were attempting to apprehend him.
  These were dedicated and hardworking members of the city of Lakewood 
police force in my district. They were senselessly murdered, presumably 
at random, by a deranged killer, and they each left families and 
children who deserve our deepest sympathy.
  This is a somber moment, Mr. Speaker, and I know my Washington State 
colleague, Congressman Dave Reichert, a former sheriff who spent more 
than 30 years in law enforcement, understands the human impact of this 
tragedy and knows the risk that law enforcement officers face each and 
every day in assuring that all of us are safe in our homes and in our 
communities.
  I yield to Congressman Reichert.
  Mr. REICHERT. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I know sometimes 
it's hard to pause for just a second in the busy lives that we lead 
here in the Capitol of this great country, but today we must. We must 
stop and pause and think about, first of all, how safe we are, and why. 
Because men and women who are wearing the uniform across this country 
sacrifice their lives for us. And on Sunday morning, 2 days ago, three 
police officers and their sergeant went to work. Went to work. They 
paused for a moment at a coffee shop, had their laptops out, talking 
about the day that they were just about to begin. Somebody walked in 
and took their lives away--all four.
  In total, they left behind nine children. This was just 1 month after 
a Seattle police officer by the name of Timothy Brenton was ambushed 
and murdered, leaving behind two more children.
  All I can say is that we thank them for their service. When you see 
somebody in uniform, pause, thank them for what they do, express 
sympathy for the loss of their partners and loved ones. And please, I 
ask that you keep their families in your thoughts and prayers.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members will rise and observe a moment of 
silence.

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