[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 78 (Monday, May 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2636-S2637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          National Police Week

  Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, this afternoon, I wish to talk about 
the brave men and women in law enforcement who are protecting us every 
single day. I am from Ohio. We are proud of our Ohio law enforcement. 
We are proud of the leadership that many Ohio law enforcement have had 
at a national level over the years. In fact, right now, the vice 
president of the Fraternal Order of Police is an officer from Marion, 
OH.
  Unfortunately, in Ohio we have had some tragic incidences over the 
past several years of law enforcement officials doing their job and 
coming into a dangerous situation--injuries, shootings, and even the 
loss of the lives of several officers earlier this year.
  This week is called Police Week. It is the week in which we take a 
moment to stop and remember those officers and talk about them.
  Today, I join my colleagues here in the Senate in cosponsoring 
legislation that is a resolution that commemorates this week as Police 
Week. Although every single day we should be grateful to those police 
officers who are out there in the Buckeye State--my home State--and 
others, this week is the time to really focus on them, to focus on the 
sacrifices and reflect on their bravery, what they do every day in 
committing themselves to protecting our communities, often risking 
their own safety to protect others. Sometimes we talk about this as the 
thin blue line, which is that thin blue line between chaos and order. 
They are those police officers on that thin blue line--the men and 
women in blue--who are out there, protecting us from that chaos.
  Police officers are driven by a dedication to justice and a sense of 
duty to protect those in need. The police officers whom I know have big 
hearts. They are compassionate. I sometimes tell them they are as much 
social workers as police officers because of the work they do. This is 
particularly true with the opioid crisis and the number of police 
officers who are engaged in that issue--in trying to get people into 
treatment, in trying to deal with the problem that, in my State, is out 
of control.
  The No. 1 cause of crime in our communities is the opioid crisis. 
Typically, it is somebody who is committing a crime--whether it is a 
burglary or fraud or shoplifting--to pay for a drug habit. Police 
officers are often in a position in which they need to step in and 
provide law enforcement but also to aid in getting people the help they 
need.
  Let me give a specific example of what I mean when I say that police 
officers put themselves on the line for us constantly. Over the 
weekend, I received a call--or an email--on Saturday about a police 
officer in Ohio who was injured in the line of duty. He is a Franklin 
County deputy. I am not going to use his name tonight because, for 
privacy purposes, his name is not out there, but he is a good example 
of what happens virtually every day in communities around the country.
  He was pulling somebody over for a traffic citation, for a traffic 
violation. He was running the tag, and he noticed that the person was 
wanted for violating a protection order after a domestic assault 
charge. The person didn't pull over. In fact, the car led the officer 
on a very dangerous police chase through the streets of Franklin 
County, which is near Columbus, OH. Finally, the chase ended when the 
suspect's car crashed. Luckily, he didn't kill anybody else when he 
crashed that car. Then a shoot-out ensued, and in that shoot-out, the 
police officer was injured. He did return fire, and when he returned 
fire, the suspect was shot and killed. This deputy has been treated in 
a hospital for his injuries. He is now listed in stable condition, 
thank God.
  This just happened last weekend. Again, it is an example of what the 
men and women in blue confront every single day. We are grateful for 
the bravery and quick action of that Franklin County deputy. I am also 
encouraged about what we are hearing about the deputy's condition as of 
this afternoon. We send him our prayers.
  This was just one example. Sadly, in many cases around the country, 
unfortunately, these officers are making the ultimate sacrifice in the 
line of duty.
  In Akron, OH, just last week, the FOP Lodge No. 7 held its annual 
memorial service for 26 Akron police officers who have given their 
lives. There are a few hundred people there, as I understand it, who 
provide a commemoration of this event every year. I appreciate that 
they do that. There will be similar memorials and moments of 
remembrance across the country this week. Of course, there is a big one 
here in Washington, DC. Sadly, in my home State of Ohio, we have no 
shortage of police officers whose bravery deserves more than we can 
ever do to repay it.
  Earlier this year, there were two heroic Ohioans who lost their lives 
in the line of duty. On Saturday, February 10, Westerville, OH, police 
officers Anthony ``Tony'' Morelli and Eric Joering were both fatally 
shot. They were responding to a 911 call--again, for domestic assault. 
They arrived and were immediately shot at. These were two amazing 
officers. Tony Morelli was a 29-year veteran at the Westerville Police 
Department. Eric Joering was a 16-year veteran. He was also a K-9 
officer who partnered with his dog, Sam.
  Both of these men were beloved and respected by members of the 
Westerville community. I had the opportunity to meet with some of their 
fellow officers and colleagues and to talk with them about these men 
and what they were like. What kept coming back was their incredible 
sense of public service and great senses of humor. They knew what they 
were doing was dangerous; yet they felt strongly about doing it and 
being dedicated to it.
  I also had the opportunity to meet with the officers' wives and kids 
and families to be able to express our thanks from all of us for the 
service that their husbands and fathers had given. On behalf of this 
body, I presented both families with flags that had been flown over the 
U.S. Capitol in honor of their courage and their sacrifice while 
protecting the people of Ohio.
  These families, like other police families I have gotten to know over 
the years, are just amazing. Their strength is inspiring. In their 
grief--and it is profound grief--they also told me how proud they were 
of the service these men performed for all of us and said that these 
two officers wouldn't have had it any other way. They wanted to be 
police officers.
  The dangers law enforcement officers face have increased in the past 
few years with the deepening of the opioid crisis and specifically with 
the growing influx of synthetic opioids, like fentanyl. Let me give one 
quick example of this.
  East Liverpool has a police officer named Chris Green. Last year, 
Officer Green pulled a car over. There were two people in the car. He 
pulled up and noticed some white, powdery substance. Fortunately for 
him, he had

[[Page S2637]]

put on gloves and a mask. He realized that this substance was fentanyl, 
which, by the way, is 50 times more powerful than heroin. He booked 
them and took them down to the station. While he was down at the 
station, he looked at his shirt and he saw a couple of flecks of 
something, a few white flecks on his shirt. So, as anybody might do, he 
reached over with his hand, like this, and just brushed these flecks 
off his shirt. Unfortunately, the flecks were fentanyl. Three flecks 
touched his skin. He immediately overdosed. He was unconscious on the 
floor. He was given Narcan not once, not twice, but four times. He was 
taken to the hospital and finally woke up at the hospital. He is a big 
guy, by the way, and is in good shape. That shows how powerful and 
deadly these drugs are.
  That is a danger our police officers are running into every day. His 
police chief said he would probably have not made it if they had not 
been there, because he had overdosed right there in the police station, 
but they had gotten him to the emergency room. Think if he had gone 
home after not having brushed off those flecks and had hugged his kids. 
That is what our police officers go through every single day.
  The incredibly dangerous nature of these drugs threatens not only 
police officers, of course, but other first responders who come into 
contact with these deadly substances. It also threatens the K-9 
sniffing dogs, the drug sniffing dogs, that come into contact with it. 
That is one reason we have to pass the STOP Act, by the way, and do 
other things that law enforcement strongly supports to stop some of 
this poison from coming into our communities.
  Law enforcement officers share an unbreakable bond. In response to 
the tragic deaths of Officers Morelli and Joering, the police community 
and the people of Central Ohio--frankly, across the Nation--have 
stepped up in big ways to support and assist these two families with a 
beautiful parade in downtown Columbus and a lot of support for the 
kids. That is exactly the way it should be.
  We hold these families up in prayer, like those 26 officers 
remembered in Akron, like the Morellis and the Joernings. We take a 
moment this week to reflect on the sacrifices police officers and their 
families make on a daily basis for all of us.
  I am honored to be here on the floor this evening to thank these 
police officers and their families. I look forward to seeing them here 
in Washington this week and in letting them know that, in this Chamber, 
in this Congress, and in this country, we appreciate what they do, that 
we are grateful for their service, and that we understand their 
sacrifices.
  I yield the floor.