[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 68 (Tuesday, May 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3044-S3045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, six Louisiana law enforcement officers 
were killed in the line of duty this past year and will be recognized 
in Washington as part of the 49th annual commemoration of National 
Police Week. These brave officers made the ultimate sacrifice while 
serving their communities and are being honored for their courageous 
spirit and their unwavering commitment to serve and protect the 
citizens of Louisiana. I want to welcome their families and colleagues 
to our Nation's Capital.
  Established in 1962, National Police Week provides an opportunity for 
us to reflect on our law enforcement officers' contributions to 
building safe and productive communities across the country. The events 
this week are a collaborative effort to honor the service and sacrifice 
of America's law enforcement community including the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, NLEOMF, the Fraternal Order of 
Police, FOP, the Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary, FOA, and the 
Concerns of Police Survivors, COPS.
  Thousands of law enforcement officers, supporters, and surviving 
family members of fallen officers will gather in Washington, DC, to 
honor the memory of their colleagues and loved ones at various events 
including, the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service at the U.S. Capitol 
and the National Police Survivors' Conference. In addition, the names 
of our six Louisiana heroes will be engraved on the National Law 
Enforcement Officers Memorial and formally dedicated during the 23d 
Annual Candlelight Vigil. They will join a total of 158 U.S. law 
enforcement officers from around the country who gave the ultimate 
sacrifice in the line of duty last year.
  The following brave officers gave their lives to protect our 
Louisiana communities: Sergeant Thomas M. Alexander, Rayville Police 
Department; Captain Timothy J. Bergeron, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's 
Office; Officer Alfred L. Celestain, Sr., New Orleans Police 
Department; Trooper Duane A. Dalton, Louisiana State Police; Sergeant 
Timothy C. Prunty, Shreveport Police Department; and Corporal Clovis W. 
Searcy, Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office.
  In addition to honoring the fallen officers at National Police Week, 
law enforcement from around the country will gather this week to honor 
the heroes who continue to keep our communities safe. I am pleased to 
recognize one of Louisiana's own, Trooper Thomas Wild of the New 
Orleans Police Department, who will be honored at this year's National 
Association of Police Organizations', NAPO, 18th Annual

[[Page S3045]]

TOP COPS Award Ceremony. TOP COPS recognizes officers who have gone 
above and beyond the call of duty from the previous year.
  Trooper Wild, this year's recipient of the Life Saving Award from the 
State police for going beyond the call of duty, will be recognized for 
his heroic actions and outstanding display of bravery last year when he 
saved the life of two victims from an overturned vehicle. Trooper 
Thomas Wild was assigned to the scene of an accident in which a van 
flipped multiple times and ultimately landed upside-down in a sugarcane 
field. Trooper Wild helped transport the unconscious driver to the 
hospital and checked for additional victims at the accident sight. This 
was all protocol that any officer would have done but in an 
extraordinary gesture Trooper Wild which beyond the call of duty by 
giving his personal cell phone number to the victim's father.
  Seven hours later Trooper Wild received a call from the victim's 
family. There may have been someone else in the vehicle. Although 
Trooper Wild was off duty, he quickly returned to the crash site 
searching the nearby field and called out for the missing passenger. 
Finally, Trooper Wild heard a faint response of someone crying out for 
help. A few minutes later, he found 22-year-old Benjamin Kilvurn 
bleeding, dehydrated, and unconscious. Wild called an ambulance and the 
young man was rushed to the hospital.
  Clearly going beyond the call of duty, Trooper Wild quickly responded 
to the concerns of a victim's family and saved the lives of not one but 
two men. His selfless actions represent the dedication and commitment 
that our law enforcement officers have for our community. I thank 
Trooper Wild for his dedication and congratulate him for being 
Louisiana's TOP COP.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, as our Nation begins its observance of 
National Police Week, I speak today in memory of three Alaska law 
enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty in 2010.
  This is National Police Week, the week that we honor law enforcement 
heroes who have given their lives to protect our communities and those 
who place their lives on the line every day. During this week we also 
remember the families of law enforcement whose sacrifices are no less 
important than their loved ones who wear the uniform.
  One of the most significant and moving of the commemorations that 
occur during National Police Week is the candlelight vigil at the 
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on Judiciary Square. More 
than 19,000 names of fallen law enforcement officers are etched on the 
Wall of Remembrance at the memorial. This year, 316 names have joined 
them--152 officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in 2010 and 164 
officers who gave their lives before the memorial was created. Each of 
these names was read at the candlelight vigil on the evening of May 13, 
2011.
  Among the 316 names are three Alaskans: Sergeant Anthony Wallace and 
Officer Matthew Tokuoka of the Hoonah Police Department and Charles 
Collins, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer assigned to the 
Port of Anchorage. They are the first Alaska law enforcement officers 
since 2003 to die in the line of duty.
  We are reminded time and again that fallen law enforcement officers 
are not heroes for the way they gave their lives but heroes for the way 
they lived their lives. I would like to say a few words about each.
  Hoonah is a village of about 760 people on an island in southeast 
Alaska. Sixty percent of year-round residents are Tlingit Indians. The 
population of the town swells during the summer as fishermen and 
visitors descend. It is a peaceful and picturesque community.
  That peace was broken on the evening of Sunday, August 29, 2010, when 
a gunman ambushed and shot Sergeant Wallace and then Officer Tokuoka 
who was off duty at the time, while the two were chatting. To add to 
the tragedy, Sergeant Wallace's mother, who was visiting Hoonah and 
riding along with her son in his police vehicle, observed the shooting. 
A special tribute was paid to Sergeant Wallace and his mother Debbie 
Greene at last Friday evening's candlelight vigil.
  Sergeant Tony Wallace was unique among the men and women of law 
enforcement. He was one of a handful of law enforcement officers 
anywhere who is deaf.
  But Tony Wallace would not let his disability stop him from living a 
life of adventure. His mother told a reporter: ``People would always 
tell him he couldn't do things but he tried even harder.''
  He was a champion high school wrestler in his hometown of Franklin, 
OH, and went on to be a varsity All-American wrestler at the Rochester 
Institute of Technology in upstate New York. Upon graduation he joined 
the public safety department at RIT as a campus police officer. Tony 
Wallace was destined to be a cop, following in the footsteps of his 
father who served with the Franklin Police Department for 34 years. He 
was living his dream and excelling at his job.
  In 2006, Tony Wallace learned of a police job in Hoonah. He had never 
visited Alaska before but he was an avid boater, hunter, and fisherman. 
He was hired after a telephone interview and a background check. Just 
like that off he went.
  In no time, Tony was sending friends pictures of him holding large 
salmon and encountering bears. He said he found the place where he 
would spend the rest of his life, enjoying nature and helping others. 
He graduated first in his class of 21 at the police academy. In his 
spare time he coached wrestling at the Hoonah School and played 
scrabble with the Elders at the Senior Center.
  Tony is also survived by his daughter Lexis and his grandmother.
  Matt Tokuoka was killed while trying to save the life of his friend 
and comrade Tony Wallace. Born in Seattle, he spent his childhood in 
Hawaii and Idaho. He too was an accomplished hunter and fisherman and 
shared his passion with his children. Matt was a Golden Gloves boxer in 
High School and joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. Matt 
joined the Hoonah Police Department following his service in the 
Marines.
  John Millan, the Hoonah Police chief at the time of the incident, 
described Matt as a larger than life figure, every bit the Marine.
  In John's words: ``Matt ran directly into a hail of bullets, when any 
other person would walk away and did so without hesitation. He called 
in a situation report, precisely like a Marine would in combat. He 
began to move Tony to safety when he laid down his own life.''
  Matt Tokuoka is survived by his wife Haley and four children--
Mitchell, Hotchan, George and Layla, as well as his father, second 
mother, sisters and grandmother.
  Matt and Tony were dedicated family people, ``Dear Ones,'' in the 
Hoonah vernacular, who were beloved by their own families as their 
extended families in the Hoonah community. Their tragic loss last 
August rocked Hoonah to the core and the process of recovery has been 
difficult. Tony and Matt were not only exemplary officers with 
significant records of public service. They were pillars of the 
community.
  Chuck Collins joined Customs and Border Protection in 2002 following 
a successful career in the Air Force. Upon completion of training, he 
was assigned to ``the port of his dreams'' in Anchorage. During the 
summer he was assigned to temporary duty in Eagle, a remote border 
checkpoint about 379 miles northeast of Fairbanks. He relished the 
assignment and I am told was active in the life of the Eagle community 
during his annual summer duty there.
  Officer Collins was killed when his government-issued Ford Bronco 
went down a 200-foot embankment on the Taylor Highway and landed in a 
rain swollen creek. Officer Collins is survived by his wife Jody and 
two sons, both of whom are serving abroad in the military.
  There is little that I can say in consolation except to note that 
Matt, Tony and Chuck touched a great many people's lives, they were 
role models, and they sacrificed all to make Alaska a safe and peaceful 
place. In valor there is hope.

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