[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 81 (Thursday, May 17, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. O'HALLERAN. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as a former law 
enforcement officer and a member of the House Law Enforcement Caucus to 
honor the brave men and women in uniform who have paid the ultimate 
sacrifice to protect, and to thank those officers who are putting their 
lives on the line every day to protect our communities.
  We owe a great debt of gratitude to these men and women and their 
families, who make their own sacrifices as they see their loved ones 
off every day.
  I remember when I went off every day and said good-bye to my wife and 
my children. I usually worked nighttime. I remember afterwards coming 
home, and on some nights when an officer had been killed or shot, and 
they would mention it on TV, but they wouldn't give the name out until 
the family was notified. Those times for all the families in a large 
major police department or a small one are traumatic.
  After a while, my son, who was very young at the time, would sit on 
the stairway going up to the second floor and the bedrooms late in the 
evening until I came home.
  I have lost friends and partners in the line of duty; one, Erwin 
Jackson, after he saved my life on a robbery arrest, within a year, he 
was shot dead on a call.
  I have grieved with their families, and during the most difficult 
times, I have experienced firsthand the real sacrifices they make.
  This week, my wife, Pat, and I pause to remember our friends, reflect 
on their service.
  Mr. Speaker, last year, 129 officers died in the line of duty across 
this country.

                              {time}  1045

  And so far this year, preliminary reports show 54 officers have died.
  Arizona has lost one brave officer so far this year. The family of 
Nogales Police Officer Jesus Cordova and the entire community continue 
to mourn his death after he was shot and killed by a carjacking suspect 
last month. He was the first Nogales officer to be shot and killed in 
130 years.
  These law enforcement officers served and protected their communities 
admirably, and while we can never repay the debt we owe them and their 
families, we will forever remember their service.
  This week, 360 officers were memorialized on the National Law 
Enforcement Memorial here in Washington, D.C.
  Three brave Arizonans were honored: Paul Lazinsky of the El Mirage 
Police Department, whose watch ended last year; Alfred Moore of the 
Arizona Department of Liquor Control, whose watch ended in 1965; and 
Rupert Hopkins of the Pima County Sheriff's Office, whose watch ended 
in 1950.
  The memorial also includes Navajo Nation Officer Houston Largo, who 
died last year while responding to a domestic violence call in New 
Mexico.
  As we look to the future, it is important to highlight the work being 
done at the local, county, and State levels to improve the relationship 
between police officers and their communities.
  I have seen firsthand how community policing practices benefit both 
the communities and the officers on patrol. It improves safety, 
increases trust, and it reduces violence. Communities across Arizona 
are leading the way in developing strong relationships between these 
two groups, and I applaud their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the support I have seen this week for 
our law enforcement community.
  I addressed how my family felt. I have spent a lot of time at 
funerals with the families of those that have fallen, too much time. 
And I have spent too many times at bedsides with seriously wounded 
officers. I was a homicide detective, and I investigated their 
shootings. Please remember in your prayers not only the officers that 
have fallen but their loved ones.

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