[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          National Police Week

  Mr. UDALL. Mr. President, it is an honor to join my colleagues. I 
know Senator Coons and others have come together as a bipartisan group 
to talk about fallen police officers.
  It is with my greatest respect and deepest sympathy that today I 
honor five fallen New Mexico heroes on the floor of the Senate. These 
five brave men were police officers who died in the line of duty. 
Police officers who sacrificed their lives in service to the people of 
their communities and our State.
  Police Officer Jose Ismael Chavez was a member of the Hatch Police 
Department. While conducting a traffic stop in Hatch on August 12, 
2016, one passenger exited and opened fire on Officer Chavez. Officer 
Chavez is survived by his wife and two children.
  Secondly, Police Officer Clint E. Corvinus of Alamogordo was part of 
the Alamogordo Police Department and was shot while pursuing a 
suspected felon on foot in Alamogordo on September 2, 2016. Officer 
Corvinus is survived by his daughter.
  Deputy Sheriff Ryan Sean Thomas of the Valencia County Sheriff's 
Department was responding to a call for service on December 6, 2016, 
when his patrol car left the roadway between Los Lunas and Belen, and 
overturned. He was ejected from his car. He is survived by his wife, 
daughter, and a baby boy after he died.
  Sheriff Steven Lawrence Ackerman, of the Lea County Sheriff's 
Department, was killed in a single vehicle crash near Encino on January 
17, 2017. Sheriff Ackerman had served with the Lea County Sheriff's 
Department for 14 years and previously with the Lea County Detention 
Center for 12 years. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son, and 
grandson.
  Police Officer Houston James Largo, of the Navajo Tribal Police, was 
shot while responding to a domestic violence call near Prewitt, NM. He 
passed away the next day on March 12, 2017. He was only 27 years old.
  There are no words to express the sadness or the gratitude we all 
feel toward these New Mexico officers and their families and toward all 
police officers who are killed in the line of duty. We honor them all 
this Police Week and by legislation we introduced last week in the 
Senate to extend flying the flag half-staff for the first responders. 
We will push to give first responders the respect they are owed by 
passing the Honoring Hometown Heroes Act.
  Every day, tens of thousands of policemen and policewomen serve our 
communities in myriad ways, from tracking down violent criminals to 
finding shelter for homeless persons. The police and their families 
deserve our respect, gratitude, and support every day.
  I thank you, Officer Chavez, Officer Corvinus, Deputy Sheriff Thomas, 
Sheriff Ackerman, and Officer Largo, from the bottom of my heart and 
with sincere appreciation.