[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING GREENE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY JON WILLIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G.K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2010

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call my colleagues' 
attention to the tragic slaying of a 30-year-old Sheriff's Deputy in my 
home state of North Carolina.
  Greene County Deputy Jon Willis died in the direct line of duty on 
July 28, 2010 while responding to a domestic disturbance call. During 
the call, Deputy Willis was shot and killed before the shooter ended 
his own life.
  I have expressed my condolences to Greene County Sheriff Lemmie 
Smith, and I know that the department and the entire community are 
shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic event. Flags at the Greene 
County Courthouse were flown half-staff yesterday as the community paid 
tribute to Deputy Willis.
  The father of two children, Deputy Willis joined the Greene County 
Sheriffs Office in December 2001, but left for a job at the Winterville 
Police Department. He returned to the Greene County Sheriff's Office in 
April 2009.
  Deputy Willis' death marks the second time the Greene County 
Sheriff's Office has lost a deputy in the line of duty. Deputy Ernest 
Martin Hull died in a vehicle crash on Jan. 2, 2000.
  Deputy Willis is also the second area officer to lose his life in the 
line of duty in the past 15 months. Lenoir County Deputy Allen Pearson 
was shot and killed in April 2009 near Grifton, N.C.
  On average, a law enforcement officer is killed in America every 
other day. Since 1792, when recordkeeping started, more than 20,000 
officers have lost their lives in service to their communities. And 
sadly, 101 officers have already been killed in the line of duty across 
the country this year.
  This event reminds us of the mortal dangers that our officers face 
each day in the line of duty.
  Madam Speaker, it is with both sadness and pride that I share with 
you the death of Deputy Jon Willis. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
wishing his loved ones the strength they require to overcome their 
loss. God bless Deputy Jon Willis. His bravery, courage, and goodness 
will never be forgotten by his community or his state.

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