[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 106 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H5635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2015
               OFFICER NORBERT--HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

  (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, the rain came down, the bayous and 
creeks rose, and the wind blew. It was as if it would never stop 
raining. It was Hurricane Harvey last September. After it was over, 55 
inches of water had hammered the Houston area.
  But in the rainy haze, Officer Norbert Ramon appeared. But Officer 
Ramon, a 55-year-old officer of the Houston Police Department, was 
sick. He had stage IV colon cancer. He was undergoing treatment, and 
doctors said that he had only a few years to live.
  However, the 24-year veteran of the Houston Police Department jumped 
into the flooded aftermath of the hurricane despite his cancer. Officer 
Ramon sloshed through bacteria-filled waters, putting his own life at 
risk.
  Over the course of 4 days, he rescued 1,500 Houstonians stranded in 
the flood. He said: ``My main concern was to help the citizens. Nothing 
else was on my mind. I didn't worry about me or anything.''
  As the waters receded and the Texas Sun came out through the blue 
sky, Mr. Speaker, Officer Ramon headed back to the hospital, returning 
to his treatments. Despite a hard-fought battle, Officer Ramon lost his 
fight against a cancerous invader.
  Taps sounded today, Mr. Speaker, as hundreds of peace officers and 
citizens of Houston honored the life of one of Houston's finest.
  Officer Norbert Ramon stood Houston strong. Mr. Speaker, they don't 
make `em like him anymore.
  And that is just the way it is.

                          ____________________