[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 194 (Wednesday, November 29, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MOURNING THE LOSS OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TROOPER DAMON ALLEN

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as Americans gathered around their 
Thanksgiving tables, joined hands with their families, and gave thanks 
for their blessings, a Texas Highway Patrol trooper was murdered.
  While returning to his patrol car during a routine traffic stop, 
Trooper Damon Allen was shot in the back by a dastardly criminal, the 
driver of that vehicle. Trooper Allen was working alone, as most 
troopers in Texas do. The multiple shots killed Trooper Allen.
  The crook had illegally procured a weapon in Trooper Allen's 
homicide. The criminal, like most do, quickly fled the scene, leading 
Texas Rangers and other law enforcement on a chase across Texas, but he 
was finally apprehended.
  Mr. Speaker, this wasn't the first time that the criminal had 
targeted our men and women in uniform. A slew of previous convictions 
are on his rap sheet, including drug possession, evading arrest, and 
violence toward law enforcement. The killer is now where he belongs: in 
the jailhouse. The bandit will face Texas justice.
  Texas Department of Public Safety Officer Allen was a devoted 
husband, a father of three, and a 15-year member of Texas law 
enforcement. He served with courage, placing the badge--the star--over 
his heart and reporting for duty every day.
  We pray for Trooper Allen and his family. Trooper Allen, like all 
peace officers, placed his life between us and the lawless. We should 
remember him and thank God that such men have lived.
  And that is just the way it is.

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