[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H4724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER ROGELIO SANTANDER

  (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, recently, Officer Rogelio Santander of 
the Dallas, Texas, police department was responding to an ordinary 
call: a thief at a Home Depot. As Officer Santander and his colleagues 
attempted to arrest the outlaw, the crook pulled out a pistol and 
started blasting away at the officers.
  All three officers responding to the call were critically wounded, 
the criminal's bullets hitting their mark as he cowardly ran away from 
his crimes. Police Officer Crystal Almeida and a civilian Home Depot 
employee were shot and are now recovering from their wounds.
  At just 28 years of age, Officer Santander was murdered in the youth 
of his life. Another member of the thin blue line killed simply because 
he wore the badge to protect and serve the rest of us.
  A man of many hats, the 3-year veteran of the force was a member of 
the rare breed, the American breed. His fellow officers, friends, and 
family members remember this Texas law man, Santander, as a person who 
always went the extra mile to protect and serve his community. Without 
fail, he encouraged his friends and family to be the best version of 
themselves during their life.
  Peace officers like Santander are the last strand of wire in the 
fence between the law and the lawless. We mourn his sacrifice, but we 
thank the good Lord that a remarkable man such as he has ever lived.
  And that is just the way it is.

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